By Haruna Salami
The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc has informed the Senate Committee on Finance that continued underfunding and non–cost-reflective tariffs are undermining the stability of Nigeria’s electricity market, as lawmakers expressed concern over the non-release of N858 billion earmarked in the 2025 budget to address the sector’s tariff deficit.
NBET’s Acting Managing Director, Johnson Akinnawo, disclosed this while presenting the agency’s 2025 budget performance and defending its proposed 2026 budget before the committee led by Senator Muhammad Sani Musa.
While outlining the 2025 performance report, Akinnawo stated that NBET’s recurrent expenses were financed through regulatory income, which catered for personnel salaries and overhead costs.
He, however, noted that the broader electricity market remains vulnerable due to the wide disparity between actual power generation costs and the tariffs approved for distribution companies.
He revealed that N858 billion was allocated in the 2025 capital budget to cover tariff shortfalls and settle outstanding payments to generation companies (GenCos), but only N60 million had been released so far. According to him, the amount released could not be utilized because of procurement limitations.
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