By Seun Ibiyemi
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has unveiled a roadmap to stabilise the national electricity grid, expand transmission capacity and attract fresh investment into the power sector, with a renewed focus on delivering measurable improvements in electricity supply.
Tegbe disclosed this at the opening of the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit 2026 at the Landmark Centre, Lagos, themed “Strengthening Power Delivery Through Execution, Coordination and Performance.”
He said the government’s priority must shift from designing reforms to implementing measures that improve electricity supply, strengthen system performance and ensure the long-term sustainability of the electricity market.
The minister outlined four key priorities: enhancing energy zones, strengthening sector liquidity and sustainability, optimising existing assets, and expanding infrastructure to accommodate future demand.
According to him, the framework is designed to tackle constraints across generation, transmission and distribution, ensuring that investments translate into more reliable electricity for households, businesses and industries.
Tegbe identified gas supply constraints, overstretched transmission infrastructure, distribution losses and accumulated sector liabilities as major challenges requiring coordinated intervention.
To address these challenges, he outlined three priority economic energy corridors: Lagos–Ogun, Benin–Enugu–Port Harcourt, and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano.
The strategy seeks to align electricity generation with transmission capacity, distribution readiness and identifiable demand across the corridors.
He said better coordination among these components would improve power delivery, support industrial productivity and help direct investment towards areas with significant economic potential.
The minister also highlighted ongoing initiatives to reduce technical and commercial losses and improve the financial sustainability of the electricity market.
These include the continued implementation of the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DSRP) and the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF).
He said the government was addressing legacy liabilities in the power sector, having paid ₦1.23 trillion out of an estimated ₦3.3 trillion.
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Tegbe added that measures were being taken to block financial leakages and prevent new liabilities from accumulating, as part of broader efforts to restore financial discipline and improve the sector’s performance.
He further stressed the need to optimise existing power-sector assets while expanding infrastructure to meet growing electricity demand.
Tegbe said the reforms, aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, must deliver tangible economic benefits rather than remain policy commitments.
According to him, improved electricity supply is essential to supporting industrial productivity, business expansion, investment and job creation.
The minister’s emphasis on execution and coordination reflects the need to ensure that improvements in generation are matched by adequate transmission and distribution infrastructure capable of delivering electricity to end-users.
The Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit and Exhibition 2026 runs from October 27 to 29, bringing together energy companies, technology providers and other industry stakeholders to showcase solutions and explore investment opportunities across the power and wider energy value chain.
