By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia
NIGERIA’s DRIVE to attract fresh investment into the power sector is focusing on faster electricity metering, reliable gas supply and the rehabilitation of existing plants to improve power delivery and strengthen revenue collection.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that Power Minister, Joseph Tegbe, outlined the strategy at the NAEC Energy Conference 2026 in Lagos, organised by the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria under the theme “Access to Assets: Empowering Players and Driving Growth”.
In remarks delivered on his behalf by the Ministry’s Acting Director of Press, Clement Ezeorah, Tegbe said the value of an energy asset depended on its ability to deliver useful electricity to a paying customer.
He warned investors and policymakers against committing capital to additional capacity without identifying the actual obstacles to improved electricity supply, whether fuel shortages, plant conditions, transmission, distribution or payment challenges.
“Adding capacity where the problem lies elsewhere will tie up capital without improving the customer’s experience,” he said.
The minister described Nigeria’s electricity market as a two-tier structure comprising a federal market responsible for interstate and international electricity trade and the national transmission system, alongside state-regulated markets established under the Electricity Act 2023.
He said the market accommodates large grid-connected power plants, embedded generation, dedicated electricity supply to eligible customers, captive power and mini-grids, creating several opportunities for investors.
Tegbe identified four major investment areas, including rehabilitating existing power plants and securing reliable gas supplies to restore dependable generation, supplying industrial estates, ports and agro-processing clusters, upgrading distribution infrastructure and expanding decentralised electricity solutions for productive activities.
He listed feeders, transformers, substations and meters among the distribution assets requiring modernisation, while identifying irrigation, refrigeration and small-scale manufacturing as potential beneficiaries of distributed energy.
The minister also urged gas producers to partner with developers and industrial consumers to establish integrated gas-to-power projects.
He said prospective investors should assess the wider economic benefits of dependable electricity, including the activities it could support across manufacturing, logistics and services, rather than focus solely on returns from individual fields or facilities.
The Ministry, he added, would pursue partnerships built around clearly defined responsibilities, realistic milestones and measurable improvements in service delivery.
Addressing accountability across the electricity value chain during a panel discussion, the minister’s representative said the government intended to track gas supplies into power generation, electricity through the grid and payments across the market to reduce Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses.
He disclosed that approximately 350,000 electricity meters had been rolled out in the preceding three months, enabling consumers to see their actual electricity consumption rather than rely on estimated bills.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that however, he acknowledged that collection efficiency and liquidity remained challenges for distribution companies, with some outstanding debts dating back to the 2013 privatisation of the electricity sector.
He said the government was working to resolve the legacy debts and was introducing a performance dashboard to enable stakeholders to assess electricity service delivery.
The minister’s representative also stressed that embedded and decentralised generation should complement, rather than replace, the national grid, noting that Nigeria would continue to need a functional interconnected transmission system as electricity demand increased.
He identified vandalism as another obstacle to expanding the network, explaining that funds intended for extending transmission lines were sometimes diverted to replace damaged equipment.
The government, he said, was pursuing public advocacy to help communities understand that attacks on electricity infrastructure ultimately reduce their own power supply.
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