DG NCSP, Mr. Joseph Tegbe
Susan Abayomi
The Federal Government is seeking fresh investments in Nigeria’s power sector, prioritising faster electricity metering, improved gas supply and better utilisation of existing energy infrastructure to strengthen electricity delivery and revenue generation.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at the NAEC Energy Conference 2026 in Lagos on October 7. The conference, organised by the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria, was themed “Access to Assets: Empowering Players and Driving Growth.”
Speaking through the Ministry’s Acting Director of Press, Clement Ezeorah, the minister stressed that the true value of energy infrastructure lies in its ability to deliver reliable electricity to consumers who pay for the service.
He noted that investments must address the specific challenges affecting electricity delivery, whether inadequate fuel supply, poor plant conditions, transmission limitations, distribution bottlenecks or payment difficulties. According to him, expanding generation capacity without resolving other constraints could tie down capital without improving electricity supply to consumers.
Tegbe explained that Nigeria’s electricity market now operates under a dual regulatory structure, comprising the federal market, which covers interstate and international electricity transactions as well as the national transmission network, and state-regulated markets established under the Electricity Act 2023.
He noted that the evolving market structure accommodates various power supply arrangements, including large grid-connected plants, embedded generation, dedicated electricity supply to eligible customers, captive power and mini-grids.
The minister identified four major investment opportunities in the sector. These include rehabilitating existing power plants to improve reliability through dependable gas supply, providing electricity to industrial estates, ports and agricultural processing centres, upgrading distribution infrastructure and expanding decentralised energy solutions for productive activities.
He highlighted opportunities in irrigation, refrigeration and small-scale manufacturing, noting that reliable electricity in these areas could stimulate economic activities and support business growth.
Tegbe also called on gas producers to collaborate with power developers and industrial consumers to establish integrated gas-to-power projects capable of improving energy availability and supporting industrial development.
On the commercial prospects of the sector, the minister urged prospective investors to look beyond the immediate returns from individual energy assets and consider the wider economic benefits of dependable electricity across manufacturing, logistics and service industries.
He added that the Ministry would continue to promote partnerships built on clearly defined responsibilities, achievable implementation timelines and measurable improvements in service delivery.
During a panel discussion at the conference, the minister’s representative outlined measures being considered to strengthen accountability across Nigeria’s electricity value chain.
He explained that closer monitoring of gas supply to power plants, electricity transmission through the national grid and payments within the electricity market would help reduce Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses.
The representative disclosed that approximately 350,000 electricity meters had been deployed within the preceding three months to improve billing transparency and enable consumers to pay based on their actual electricity consumption rather than estimated bills.
However, he acknowledged that poor revenue collection and liquidity challenges continued to affect distribution companies. He also noted that some outstanding financial obligations dated back to the 2013 privatisation of the power sector.
According to him, the government is working towards resolving these financial challenges while introducing a performance dashboard to enable stakeholders to monitor service delivery and assess progress across the industry.
The minister’s representative further emphasised that embedded and decentralised electricity generation should complement, rather than replace, the national grid.
He maintained that Nigeria would continue to require a functional interconnected transmission network to meet rising electricity demand and support the expansion of power supply across the country.
Vandalism of electricity infrastructure was also identified as a major obstacle to sectoral development. The representative explained that funds intended for expanding transmission lines were sometimes diverted to repair or replace damaged equipment.
He said the government was pursuing public awareness initiatives to encourage communities to protect electricity infrastructure, stressing that vandalism ultimately undermines efforts to improve power supply to the same communities.
The government’s renewed focus on investment, metering, gas supply and infrastructure protection underscores its efforts to address persistent challenges in the electricity sector while creating opportunities for private capital and improving service delivery to consumers.
