By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has ruled out any increase in electricity tariffs, insisting that the Federal Government remains focused on improving electricity supply and strengthening the financial and physical foundations of the power sector rather than imposing additional costs on consumers.
Tegbe made the disclosure on Monday, 21 September, 2026, at a media parley in Abuja marking his first 100 days in office, where he explained that the electricity sector was constrained across the entire value chain, with challenges that could not be solved by simply adding new generation capacity.
He said his first 100 days, covering June 8 to September 16, had largely focused on diagnosing problems across the electricity value chain, stabilising existing infrastructure and restoring market discipline.
“When President Bola Tinubu entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as Minister of Power, I made four promises to Nigerians. I promised a disciplined approach to solving the sector’s problems. I promised to pursue grid stability through structured, strategic reforms. I promised visible incremental improvements,” he said.
The Minister explained that the diagnosis undertaken upon assuming office revealed constraints at every segment of the electricity value chain, disclosing that gas supply to power stations was limited by damaged pipelines and commercial terms that discouraged investment.
“Our generation fleet was heavily dependent on thermal plants, with ageing equipment, deferred maintenance, stalled projects, and capacity unable to reach consumers. The sector diagnosis revealed payment of only 27 per cent of generation companies’ bills, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers,” Tegbe said.
He explained further that transmission infrastructure was similarly under pressure from vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent system tripping, while distribution companies were recording aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of between 30 and 40 per cent, worsened by inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged assets and weak payment discipline.
Tegbe disclosed that inflation and foreign exchange pressures had further increased the cost of operating in the sector, with arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies exceeding N100 billion.
“Across the market, inflation and foreign exchange pressures raised costs. Arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies exceeded 100 billion naira. Debts continued to accumulate, regulatory uncertainty weakened confidence, and inconsistent data made it difficult to establish a common factual basis for decisions. Substantial development-finance commitments also required better coordination to translate funding opportunities into electricity delivered,” he said.
The Minister explained that the identified challenges reinforced one another, creating a cycle in which unpaid electricity bills weakened gas supply and plant maintenance, unreliable electricity reduced collections, and poor collections increased sector debts.
“These problems reinforce one another. Unpaid bills weaken gas supply and maintenance; unreliable supply depresses collections; poor collections deepen debt. A new power station cannot, by itself, resolve that cycle. Sustainable improvement requires us to repair the physical system and the commercial relationships that keep it functioning,” he said.
Tegbe disclosed that the government therefore spent the first 100 days on diagnosis and stabilisation rather than concentrating solely on new projects, revealing that the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant was restored to the national grid after three years offline, while transformers commissioned at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity. He added that a new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked another 240MW.
The Minister disclosed that operational records showed generation and transmission rising above 5,000MW in the weeks preceding the media parley, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June, with generation peaking at 5,330MW in August and September. He, however, acknowledged that national generation figures did not necessarily reflect the experience of individual communities.
“National progress can coexist with an unreliable feeder in a particular community. So, when we say that there are improvements in certain places, we do not categorically deny the experiences of those that are yet to benefit,” he said.
On the financial side, Tegbe disclosed that the government had raised an estimated N1.23 trillion to address part of the N3.3 trillion power-sector debt backlog. He further disclosed that about 350,000 electricity meters were installed during the first 100 days, taking cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026, adding that the resolution of litigation involving the AMMON metering programme had unlocked procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters.
The Minister further announced that the government had no plan to increase electricity tariffs.
“Let me categorically state, and this is not a political statement, we have no plan to increase electricity tariffs,” he said.
On the next phase of the reforms, Tegbe disclosed that the government would focus on stabilising the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors, while beginning work on a Transmission Super Grid, noting that technical audits had commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and direct investment to interventions with measurable system impact.
He explained that the government would also work to improve the utilisation of existing generation and transmission assets, strengthen bilateral arrangements between generation and distribution companies, and develop infrastructure for future electricity demand, disclosing that progress would be reported based on supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of faults and complaints over the next six months.
Tegbe further disclosed that the government was pursuing investment partnerships with Chinese companies for several projects, including the 1.9GW Presidential Power Initiative, the $116 million Zungeru evacuation project and a proposed $500 million industrial park for power equipment manufacturing. He added that the Federal Government would also continue work on the Mambilla hydropower project, following Nigeria’s victory in the arbitration case involving the project.
The Minister, who assumed office on June 8 following the resignation of former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu, had his appointment confirmed by the Senate on May 6.
“Our original commitment to visible, incremental improvements remains the benchmark. We will report progress against that benchmark, including changes in supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of faults and complaints,” he said.
