Uche Cecil Izuora
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has outlined a roadmap to stabilize Nigeria’s electricity grid, expand transmission capacity and attract fresh investment into the sector.
He spoke at the opening of the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit 2026 at the Landmark Centre, Lagos, themed “Strengthening Power Delivery Through Execution, Coordination and Performance.”
In his address, Tegbe said the priority must shift from designing reforms to delivering measurable improvements in electricity supply, system performance and market sustainability.
He outlined four cardinal priorities: enhancing energy zones, strengthening sector liquidity and sustainability, optimising existing assets, and expanding infrastructure to meet future demand. The framework is designed to address constraints across generation, transmission and distribution, ensuring that investments translate into more reliable electricity for households, businesses and industries.
The Minister identified gas supply constraints, overstretched transmission infrastructure, distribution losses and accumulated sector liabilities as major challenges requiring coordinated action. To improve delivery, Tegbe identified three priority economic energy corridors: Lagos–Ogun, Benin–Enugu–Port Harcourt and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano. The strategy seeks to align generation, transmission infrastructure, distribution readiness and identifiable demand to improve electricity delivery and support industrial productivity.
Tegbe also highlighted initiatives to reduce technical and commercial losses, including 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 working to resolve legacy sector and has paid ₦1.23 trillion out of an estimated ₦3.3 trillion while blocking financial leakages to prevent new liabilities from accumulating. He also emphasised the need to optimize existing power-sector assets and expand infrastructure to accommodate future demand.
He said the reforms, aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, must ultimately deliver tangible economic benefits by supporting industrial productivity, business growth, investment and job creation.
The Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit and Exhibition 2026, which runs from 27 to 29 October, brings together energy companies, technology providers and industry stakeholders to showcase solutions and explore investment opportunities across the power and wider energy value chain.