During a press conference in Abuja, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu emphasized that Nigeria must transition away from subsidizing electricity to adopt a more cost-effective tariff model.
Adelabu noted Nigeria’s significant debts of 1.3 trillion naira to Generating Companies (GenCos) and 1.3 billion dollars owed to gas companies.
Adelabu, addressed a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said only 450 billion naira was budgeted for subsidy this year but the ministry needs over 2 trillion naira for subsidy.
He announced that state governments would be permitted to independently generate power for their states.
On the grid that has collapsed for about six times between December 2023 and now, he said this was caused by shortage of gas, ageing machines in the grid value chain, low capacity to evacuate generated power, and destruction of power stations in some parts of the North-East geopolitical zone of the country.
Adelabu also mentioned over 100 abandoned projects by the Transmission Company of Nigeria due to forex fluctuations, delaying the awarding of new contracts until completion.
He also disclosed a 50 billion naira allocation in the 2024 budget for constructing mini grids in remote areas.
Adelabu warned electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to improve performance or risk license withdrawal.
Additionally, he sought assistance from the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to safeguard power infrastructure.
