THE Minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, in a statement on Sunday, September 29, claimed that Nigeria’s electricity supply has improved, with over 40 per cent of the population now receiving up to 20 hours of power daily.
He stated that this milestone, reached in just a year, is the result of several innovative measures introduced by the ministry with the support of president Bola Tinubu.
“The major achievement is the fact that today we generate over 5,500 megawatts of power, we transmit and distribute it, and over 40 per cent of customers today enjoy over 20 hours of regular power supply across the nation. You can see that there is a significant improvement between when we came in and now, which we intend to improve further”. He said.
He mentioned that the ministry’s efforts are in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which focuses on promoting industrialisation by ensuring a reliable power supply.
Adelabu emphasised the importance of stable electricity in developed countries, attributing it to their economic prosperity while outlining the ministry’s vision to deliver dependable power to households, businesses, and institutions, which would boost job creation and improve operational efficiency.
“Our installed capacity is over 14,000 megawatts of power due to the addition of the newly commissioned Zungeru hydroelectric power plant and improved capacity of some of the existing power plants,* the statement further read
The minister outlined various strategic steps taken to improve the power sector, including the signing of the 2023 Electricity Act, which decentralises and liberalises the industry.
He also mentioned the creation of a detailed policy framework aimed at improving sector performance and boosting market liquidity.
Adelabu said that infrastructure upgrades played a crucial role in the progress made. He noted that the current electricity supply is a result of the newly commissioned and installed transformers and mobile substations.
He said the ministry is addressing the metering gap through the Presidential Metering Initiative, which plans to install over 10 million meters within five years whilst stating that the World Bank is backing these efforts through the Distribution Recovery Program.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected]