By Joy Baba-Yesufu
The Federal Government has unveiled a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at halting the growth of the power sector’s legacy debt, currently estimated at N3.3 trillion, while accelerating investments in transmission infrastructure, regulatory reforms and market sustainability.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe disclosed this during a media briefing in Lagos on Friday, saying the government was implementing far-reaching measures to reposition the electricity sector to deliver more reliable and affordable power to Nigerians.
He said the legacy debt, which arose largely from tariff shortfalls, ageing infrastructure and governance challenges, had been reconciled at about N3.3 trillion.
According to the minister, the Federal Government has commenced settling the debt through bond issuances, with N501 billion already paid and an additional N700 billion expected to be disbursed before the end of the year.
Tegbe explained that the government’s objective is to prevent further accumulation of debt while strengthening the financial viability of the electricity market.
He described tariff shortfalls as a major contributor to the sector’s liquidity crisis, stressing that the problem would be addressed through improved metering, rehabilitation of obsolete infrastructure and enhanced governance across the electricity value chain.
The minister assured Nigerians that the government would continue to protect vulnerable electricity consumers through targeted interventions, noting that electricity remains an essential social service.
“What is often described as subsidy is essentially the tariff shortfall within the market. As metering improves and technical inefficiencies are reduced through the replacement of aging equipment, this gap will gradually narrow,” he said.
Tegbe added that the Federal Government would continue to explore additional mechanisms to cushion the impact of electricity costs on low-income consumers while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the sector.
He said the Tinubu administration was focused on rebuilding the electricity industry through disciplined implementation of reforms rather than policy pronouncements.
“Resetting the sector is not about buzzwords. It is about execution, discipline, coordination and measurable outcomes. We will measure our success by improvements experienced in the daily lives of Nigerians.
“Our ambition is clear: reliable electricity that powers homes, competitive electricity that drives industries, sustainable electricity that attracts investment and inclusive electricity that reaches every Nigerian,” he said.
As part of the reform programme, the minister announced plans to commence a comprehensive technical audit of the national transmission network to identify ageing infrastructure, overloaded substations, weak transmission corridors, protection failures and operational bottlenecks.
He said the audit would guide future investments and ensure that resources are deployed to projects capable of delivering maximum impact.
The ministry also plans to strengthen collaboration between the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to harmonise regulatory frameworks following the implementation of the Electricity Act.
According to him, the initiative is expected to eliminate jurisdictional disputes, improve regulatory certainty and support decentralised electricity markets.
On grid stability, the minister disclosed that the government would prioritise investments in three strategic transmission corridors: Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt, and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano, to improve power transmission and reduce system failures.
He said restoring liquidity to the electricity market would remain a priority through efforts to reduce technical and commercial losses while complementing the ongoing Presidential Metering Initiative with accelerated deployment of smart meters nationwide.
The minister further revealed plans to optimise existing power assets by linking underutilised facilities with industrial clusters, manufacturing hubs and strategic economic corridors to improve electricity utilisation and support economic growth.
He also highlighted the proposed Super Grid Programme, describing it as a long-term strategy to expand Nigeria’s transmission backbone, improve network redundancy and increase power transfer capacity across the country.
Tegbe expressed optimism that Nigerians would begin to experience noticeable improvements in electricity supply within the coming months.
He added that over the next two to three years, the reforms are expected to deliver a stronger and more resilient national grid, lower technical losses, improved market discipline, greater investor confidence, expanded electricity access and significantly enhanced operational capacity.
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