FG has no immediate plan to hike electricity tariff – Tegbe

By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

The Federal Government has no immediate plan to increase electricity tariffs, Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, said on Monday, dismissing rumours of an impending hike in electricity rates across the country.

Tegbe, who spoke in Abuja while presenting his scorecard for his first 100 days in office, said electricity generation and transmission had exceeded 5,000 megawatts (MW) in recent weeks, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June 2026.

He disclosed that the sector recorded a generation peak of 5,330MW in August and September, following interventions to restore power infrastructure and improve the performance of existing assets.

The Minister, however, acknowledged that the improvements had yet to translate into reliable electricity supply for many Nigerians, saying the immediate task was to sustain the gains and extend them to more communities.

Speaking on his performance between June 8 and September 16, 2026, Tegbe said the administration had focused on stabilising the electricity value chain, restoring market discipline and strengthening governance.

He said: “Operational record reports show generation and transmission above 5,000MW over the past couple of weeks, compared to the 3,700 to 4,700MW range before June, and a generation peak of 5,330MW during August and September.

“Our next task is to sustain these gains and translate them into more dependable supply at customer level.”

The Minister said the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant, which had been offline for three years, was restored to the national grid during the period.

He also disclosed that the commissioning of new transformers at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos had unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity.

Similarly, a new 300-megavolt-ampere (MVA) transformer energised at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked an additional 240MW of transmission capacity.

According to him, the interventions were aimed at recovering stranded capacity and strengthening electricity delivery to major centres of demand.

Tegbe said the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had also secured the release of more than 300 containers of critical power equipment held up at the ports.

He said the equipment would be inspected, deployed and installed to support ongoing transmission infrastructure upgrades.

On electricity access, the minister said 62 solar and mini-grid installations had been completed across 30 states, providing about 43.6MW of installed solar capacity and 41,735 new connections.

The projects, he said, had an estimated beneficiary reach of more than 208,000 people.

He listed initiatives under the Rural Electrification Agency, including the 3MW solar hybrid system recently commissioned at Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja, as part of efforts to provide more dependable electricity to educational institutions.

Other projects include a 20MW off-grid initiative in Kogi State, a 3.5MW solar project in Kebbi State, a 5.5MW mini-grid in Epe, Lagos, and 39 mini-grids in Adamawa State designed to provide nearly 27MW of electricity.

The Minister said the Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO) would manage publicly financed renewable energy infrastructure and mobilise N3 trillion over the coming years.

On the financial health of the sector, Tegbe said the government had raised an estimated N1.23 trillion towards settling outstanding power-sector debts as part of a broader programme to address N3.3 trillion in liabilities.

He said the initiative was expected to improve liquidity across the electricity value chain and strengthen operators’ capacity to maintain infrastructure and meet their obligations.

The Minister also disclosed that the government had blocked revenue leakages associated with energy theft and other losses along the Ikorodu-Sagamu industrial corridor, estimated at approximately N120 billion annually.

He said improved billing, collection and remittance would help preserve resources needed to sustain electricity supply.

On metering, Tegbe said approximately 350,000 meters were installed during his first 100 days in office, bringing cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026.

He added that the resolution of the AMMON litigation had unlocked the procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters across affected programmes.

The Minister said metering of military formations was also progressing, with 90,000 installations recorded, while 5,000 young Nigerians were undergoing training as smart-meter installers under the Power Force programme.

Tegbe reiterated that the government had no immediate plan to increase electricity tariffs.

He said the next phase of the reform programme would focus on stabilising key transmission corridors, including Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano, while advancing the proposed Transmission Super Grid.

The Minister said technical audits had commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and guide investments towards interventions with measurable system impact.

He added that the government would also pursue bilateral arrangements between generation and distribution companies to improve capacity utilisation and payment certainty.

On future investments, Tegbe said engagements with Chinese companies had secured commitments to accelerate priority power projects, including the 1.9-gigawatt Presidential Power Initiative, with the first transmission lines scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027.

He said the government would continue efforts to strengthen grid protection and control systems, improve gas availability to power plants, and address vandalism and electricity theft.

Acknowledging that the national generation peak did not necessarily reflect the electricity experience of every community, Tegbe said the government would measure progress through supply reliability, billing accuracy, and the resolution of faults and complaints.

He said the government would work over the next six months to translate the repairs and reforms into more visible improvements in electricity supply.

The post FG has no immediate plan to hike electricity tariff – Tegbe appeared first on Vanguard News.