The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, says the Federal Government has no immediate plan to increase electricity tariffs, as it focuses on stabilising the power sector and improving service delivery.
Tegbe gave the assurance in Abuja while briefing Power Correspondents on his first 100 days in office.
He said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was prioritising the stabilisation of the electricity value chain, restoration of market discipline and improved governance rather than placing an additional burden on consumers.
Tegbe, who assumed office on June 8, said his first 100 days were largely devoted to diagnosing the challenges across the sector and implementing measures to stabilise operations.
He said the assessment revealed constraints across the electricity value chain, including limited gas supply to power plants due to damaged pipelines and commercial conditions that discouraged investment.
According to him, the generation segment was also affected by ageing thermal plants, deferred maintenance, stalled projects and inadequate capacity to deliver available power to consumers.
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He said generation companies received only 27 per cent of their bills, limiting their ability to maintain their plants and settle payments to gas suppliers.
Tegbe added that the transmission network was constrained by vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent system trips.
He said the distribution segment continued to record aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of between 30 and 40 per cent, alongside inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged assets and weak payment discipline.
The minister, however, said the sector had recorded some progress since his assumption of office.
He cited the restoration of the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant after three years offline as one of the achievements recorded during the period.
He said upgrades at substations in Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos had unlocked 672MW, while the installation of a new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, had added another 240MW.
Tegbe said electricity generation and transmission had risen above 5,000MW in recent weeks, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June, with a peak of 5,330MW recorded in August and September.
He also disclosed that more than 300 containers of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) equipment had been cleared from the ports.
According to him, two solar and mini-grid installations across 30 states had added 43.6MW and provided 41,735 new connections.
The minister said 350,000 meters were installed within the first 100 days, bringing the cumulative number to 1,004,260 as of August, while 90,000 meters were installed in military formations.
He further disclosed that an estimated N1.23 trillion had been raised towards settling the N3.3 trillion legacy debt owed to power generation companies.
Tegbe said the ministry would, over the next six months, focus on deepening grid stabilisation along the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors.
He said efforts would also be directed towards developing a transmission super grid, connecting electricity supply to productive clusters through bilateral agreements and preparing infrastructure for future demand, including the Mambilla hydro project.
Tegbe urged Nigerians to support the ongoing reforms and help protect electricity infrastructure from vandalism and theft.
“Our commitments remain clear: a disciplined approach, grid stability through strategic reform, visible improvements in electricity supply, and honest communication,” he said.
