The Federal Government has ruled out any immediate increase in electricity tariffs, saying it has raised an estimated ₦1.23 trillion to address the power sector’s debt backlog and improve liquidity.
Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a media parley to mark his first 100 days in office.
Tegbe said electricity generation and transmission had remained above 5,000 megawatts (MW) in recent weeks, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June.
“We have no plan to increase electricity tariffs. There is no immediate plan by this government to increase tariffs. It is not on our table; it is not on our agenda,” the minister said.
He said the ₦1.23 trillion raised formed part of a broader programme to tackle the estimated ₦3.3 trillion debt across the power sector.
According to Tegbe, the ministry’s assessment identified challenges across gas supply, generation, transmission and distribution, with the problems interconnected across the value chain.
He said damaged gas pipelines and commercial terms had constrained fuel supply to power plants, while ageing thermal plants, deferred maintenance and stalled projects continued to affect generation.
Only 27 per cent of bills issued by generation companies were being paid, he said, limiting their ability to maintain plants and settle payments to gas suppliers.
The transmission network, according to the minister, was also affected by vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent tripping, while the distribution segment recorded aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of between 30 and 40 per cent.
Tegbe disclosed that Nigeria recorded a generation peak of 5,330MW between August and September, although he acknowledged that the improvement had not yet translated into reliable electricity for all communities.
“Our next task is to sustain these gains and translate them into more dependable supply at customer level. We are aware that a national peak alone cannot describe the experience of every community,” he said.
He also announced the restoration of the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant to the national grid after three years offline.
Newly commissioned transformers at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos have unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity, while a 300MVA transformer energised at Katampe, Abuja, added another 240MW, he said.
The minister said the government was also intensifying metering efforts to reduce estimated billing and improve revenue collection.
About 350,000 meters were installed during his first 100 days in office, bringing cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026, he disclosed.
He added that the resolution of the AMMON litigation had enabled the procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters under affected programmes.
Tegbe further disclosed that 90,000 meters had been installed in military formations, while 5,000 young Nigerians were being trained as smart-meter installers under the Power Force programme.
He said the government had also blocked energy theft and revenue leakages estimated at about ₦120 billion annually along the Ikorodu-Sagamu corridor.
Tegbe stressed that improved billing, collection and remittance would be critical to preserving the resources needed to sustain electricity supply.
