Federal Govt Prioritises Energy Zones, Liquidity, Assets, Infrastructure for Reliable Electricity

The federal government has prioritised energy zones, sector liquidity, existing assets and infrastructure expansion as it works to deliver more reliable electricity across Nigeria, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said.

Tegbe spoke at the opening of the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit 2026 in Lagos. The summit is themed “Strengthening Power Delivery Through Execution, Coordination and Performance.”

He said the priority in the sector must now shift from designing reforms to delivering measurable improvements in electricity supply, system performance and market sustainability.

The minister outlined four cardinal priorities: enhancing energy zones, strengthening sector liquidity and sustainability, optimising existing assets, and expanding infrastructure to meet future demand.

According to him, the framework is designed to address constraints across generation, transmission and distribution, so that investments translate into more reliable electricity for households, businesses and industries.

Tegbe also identified gas supply constraints, overstretched transmission infrastructure, distribution losses and accumulated sector liabilities as the major challenges requiring coordinated action.

To improve delivery, he named three priority economic energy corridors: Lagos–Ogun, Benin–Enugu–Port Harcourt and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano. The strategy, he said, seeks to align generation, transmission infrastructure, distribution readiness and identifiable demand to improve electricity delivery and support industrial productivity.

He said the priority in the sector must now shift from designing reforms to delivering measurable improvements in electricity supply, system performance and market sustainability.

According to the minister, the four problems affect generation, transmission and distribution alike, and require coordinated action across the value chain. He said the government’s framework is designed to address these constraints so that investments translate into more reliable electricity for households, businesses and industries.

To tackle them, Tegbe outlined four cardinal priorities: enhancing energy zones, strengthening sector liquidity and sustainability, optimising existing power-sector assets, and expanding infrastructure to meet future demand.

On the grid, he said transmission infrastructure is overstretched. He stressed the need to get more from existing assets while expanding infrastructure to accommodate growing demand.

On losses, he highlighted three initiatives aimed at reducing technical and commercial losses in distribution. They are the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DSRP) and the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF). He said implementation of the PMI is continuing.

On debt, Tegbe said the government is working to resolve legacy liabilities in the sector. He said it has paid ₦1.23 trillion out of an estimated ₦3.3 trillion. He added that financial leakages are being blocked to prevent new liabilities from accumulating.

To improve delivery, the minister identified three priority economic energy corridors: Lagos–Ogun, Benin–Enugu–Port Harcourt and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano. He said the strategy seeks to align generation, transmission infrastructure, distribution readiness and identifiable demand in each corridor. The aim, he said, is to improve electricity delivery and support industrial productivity.

Tegbe said the reforms, aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, must ultimately deliver tangible economic benefits. He listed these as industrial productivity, business growth, investment and job creation.

The Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit and Exhibition 2026 brings together energy companies, technology providers and industry stakeholders. It is designed to showcase solutions and explore investment opportunities across the power and wider energy value chain.