Abuja, Nigeria — Efforts by the Federal Government to boost power generation have hit a snag as electricity distribution companies (Discos) have refused to off-take the power allocated to them, according to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.
In a statement released on Sunday, Adelabu expressed regret over the development, noting that power generation peaked at 5,170 megawatts on Friday. However, due to the inability of the Discos to pick up the supply, it had to be scaled back by 1,400 megawatts.
“This is really regrettable considering that the government is on course to increase generation to 6,000 megawatts by the end of the year,” Adelabu lamented.
The minister made these remarks during a facility tour of TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China, where he attended the China-Africa Cooperation Summit. During the tour, Adelabu also disclosed that the Federal Government has finalized plans to release $800 million for the construction of substations and distribution lines under the Presidential Power Initiative.
The funds will be split evenly between Lot 2, which covers the franchise areas of the Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu distribution companies, and Lot 3, which includes the franchise areas of Abuja, Kaduna, Jos, and Kano Discos.
During an interactive session with TBEA management, Adelabu reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to working with world-class organizations like TBEA to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision for the power sector. This vision focuses on transmission, distribution, and renewable energy.
Adelabu highlighted the longstanding challenges in the power sector, particularly the fragile and outdated transmission and distribution infrastructure. These issues have contributed to the country’s historically unreliable power supply, affecting households, industries, and businesses.
“More than 59 per cent of industries in Nigeria are off the grid,” Adelabu stated. “They do not see the national grid as reliable and dependable, so a lot of them now operate their own captive, self-generated power.”
The minister stressed that the government is determined to transform the power sector, noting that significant progress has already been made. “When this administration came in last year, we met around 4,000 megawatts of power. But within a year, we were able to generate a milestone of 5,170 megawatts, adding about 1,000 megawatts of power within the first year,” he said. “It may look small, but compared to the history of the country, this is commendable.”
Adelabu outlined the government’s plan to achieve 6,000 megawatts of power by the end of the year and a long-term goal of generating, transmitting, and distributing 30,000 megawatts by 2030, with 30 per cent coming from renewable energy sources. The renewable energy segment is expected to include a mix of hydroelectric power from small dams, solar energy, and wind farms from onshore and offshore sources.
Earlier, Huang Hanjie, President of TBEA, assured the Nigerian government of the company’s continued support for the country’s power sector vision. He noted that TBEA operates in over 100 countries and is already involved in projects in Nigeria, including work with the Omotosho power plant in Ondo State.
Hanjie emphasized TBEA’s readiness to contribute to the ongoing power sector revolution in Nigeria.
In a related development, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recently introduced tough sanctions against Discos that commit infractions. The commission’s Order on Performance Monitoring Framework stipulates that any Disco that fails to off-take at least 95 per cent of the total energy allocated to it for distribution will face penalties, including a five per cent reduction in administrative and operational expenditure.
The minister’s revelations underscore the challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector, even as the government intensifies efforts to bring stability and growth to the industry.
