By Mary Izuaka

 

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said the Bola Tinubu administration has no immediate plans to increase electricity tariff, dismissing rumours of an imminent hike.

Mr Tegbe stated this on Monday in Abuja during a media parley with journalists, where he gave an account of his first 100 days in office.

“Let me categorically state, and this is not a political statement, we have no plan to increase electricity tariff,” Mr Tegbe said.

The minister, who assumed office on June 8, said his stewardship so far has focused on stabilising the nation’s ageing power infrastructure rather than embarking on new large-scale projects.

He said the administration inherited electricity infrastructure that is over 40 years old and plagued by weaknesses across the entire value chain.

According to him, a diagnosis carried out at the beginning of his tenure revealed gas supply constraints, an ageing generation fleet, vandalised transmission infrastructure and distribution losses of between 30 and 40 per cent.

Mr Tegbe said generation companies were being paid only 27 per cent of their bills, a development he said had undermined their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers.

Despite the challenges, the minister listed what he described as modest but measurable improvements.

He said the 375 megawatt Alaoji power plant had been restored to the national grid after three years offline, while new transformers commissioned in Lagos and Abuja had unlocked over 900 megawatts of additional transmission capacity.

He added that national generation and transmission had exceeded 5,000 megawatts in recent weeks, compared with a range of 3,700 to 4,700 megawatts before June, with a peak of 5,330 megawatts recorded in August and September.

On rural electrification, Mr Tegbe said the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and its partners completed 62 solar and mini-grid installations across 30 states, providing about 43.6 megawatts of solar capacity and over 41,000 new connections, benefiting more than 208,000 people.

He also announced the launch of the Renewable Asset Management Company, which he said would professionally manage publicly financed renewable energy assets with a target to raise N3 trillion in the coming years.

On the financial side, Mr Tegbe said about N1.23 trillion had been raised towards settling the sector’s debt backlog, as part of efforts to address N3.3 trillion in outstanding obligations.

He said interventions targeting energy theft along the Ikorodu-Sagamu corridor had blocked an estimated N120 billion in annual revenue leakage.

On metering, the minister said about 350,000 meters were installed during the first 100 days, bringing cumulative installations to just over one million as of August. He said the resolution of the Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) litigation had unlocked procurement of about 1.4 million additional smart meters.

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Mr Tegbe also highlighted engagements with Chinese firms, aimed at accelerating projects under the Presidential Power Initiative, as well as a cooperation agreement with Huawei on grid digitalisation.

Looking ahead, he said the next phase would focus on stabilising the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors, developing a transmission “super grid,” improving utilisation of existing assets, and preparing infrastructure for future demand, including the long-delayed Mambila hydropower project.

The minister acknowledged that many Nigerians were yet to feel the impact of the improvements.

“National progress can coexist with an unreliable feeder in a particular community,” he said, adding that the government does not deny the experiences of those yet to benefit.

He appealed for continued support and scrutiny from the public and the media, saying the reform of the power sector “is not a sprint; rather, it is a marathon.”