FG: No plan to increase electricity tariff

Energy Minister, Joseph Tegbe, has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government has no immediate plan to increase electricity tariff.
Tegbe gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja while briefing Power correspondents on his 100 days in office.

According to him, the objective of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is to stabilize the value chain, restore market discipline and strengthen governance in the energy sector, rather than burden consumers with higher tariffs.
Tegbe, who took office on June 8, said his first 100 days were dedicated to diagnosing and stabilizing the power sector
”When we took office, the diagnosis we made at the beginning became clear
constraints in every segment of the electricity value chain. gas supplies to power plants were limited by damaged pipelines and trading conditions that discouraged investment.
“Our generation fleet was heavily dependent on thermal power plants, with aging equipment, deferred maintenance, stalled projects and capacity unable to reach consumers.
“The industry diagnosis revealed payment of only 27% of generation companies’ bills, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers,” he said.
The minister also said the power transmission network faced vandalized, overloaded pylons and lines
equipment and frequent travel.
Tegbe said the distribution segment suffered aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of 30% to 40%, coupled with inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged goods and weak payment discipline.
The minister, however, listed modest gains recorded between June 8 and September 16 as including the restoration of the 375 mega watt (MW) Alaoji open-cycle power plant after three years of inactivity.
“Other improvements include the upgrade of substations in Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos unlocking 672 MW, and a new 300 Mega Volt Ampree (MVA) transformer in Katampe, Abuja unlocking 240 MW.
Tegbe said there had been an increase in generation and transmission above 5,000 MW in recent weeks, compared to 3,700-4,700 MW before June, with a peak of 5,330 MW in August and September.
It also revealed the release of more than 300 containers of TCN equipment from ports. And two solar and mini-grid facilities in 30 states providing 43.6 MW and 41,735 new connections.
According to him, 350,000 meters were installed in 100 days, a total of 1,004,260 in August and 90,000 in military formations.
It also said that about $1.23 trillion has been raised to pay off the energy sector’s pre-existing debt of $3.3 trillion to generation companies.
The minister said the next six months would be used to focus on deepening network stabilization along the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors.
He said there will also be development of the super transmission grid, linking supply to production clusters through bilateral agreements and preparing infrastructure for future demand, including Mambilla hydropower.
The minister appealed to Nigerians to support reforms and help protect electricity infrastructure from vandalism and theft.
“Our commitments remain clear: a disciplined approach, grid stability through strategic reforms, visible improvements in electricity supply and honest communication,” he said.