Experts commend Tinubu administration on progress in power sector
By Yunus Yusuf
Power sector experts have commended President Bola Tinubu-led administration for making commendable progress in electricity generation and infrastructure development within its first two years in office.
They gave the commendation in separate interviews with the Business intelligence (TBI Africa ) on Thursday in Lagos during an evaluation of the administration’s two-year performance in the power sector.
The experts acknowledged significant strides in power generation capacity, infrastructure upgrades, and regulatory reforms.
Dr Olukayode Akinrolabu, a power expert said that the administration had set an ambitious target of achieving 8,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation by 2027.
Akinrolabu, also the Chairman of Customer Consultative Forum for Festac/Satellite Town in Lagos, said, “As of March 2025, Nigeria reached an all-time high available generation capacity of 6,003MW.
“The average daily generation in Q1 2025 stood at 5,700MW, a notable increase from 4,100MW recorded in Q3 2023,” Akinrolabu said.
He added that the administration had signed agreements to generate an additional 2,000MW from renewable sources by the end of 2025, aligning with the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) and driving Nigeria’s shift towards energy diversification.
Akinrolabu highlighted critical infrastructure investments under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), which has led to the construction and upgrade of 14 new transmission lines and rehabilitation of existing ones.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has installed over 70 new transformers, leveraging both internally generated revenue and external funding from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
“These upgrades have expanded the national grid’s transformation capacity by more than 12,000MVA,” he said.
He praised the administration’s efforts to attract private sector investments in grid infrastructure and plans to regionalize the national transmission system to reduce systemic risks.
“Evacuation of power from critical assets like the 700MW Zungeru Hydropower Plant is also underway, with 550MW already being delivered to the grid,” he added.
Akinrolabu said the administration had launched initiatives on the issue of distribution and metering.
According to him, such initiaves incĺude the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Scheme and the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) to close Nigeria’s longstanding metering gap.
“Under the PMI, more than two million meters are expected to be delivered, with N700 billion secured through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC),” he noted.
He, however, cautioned against prioritising only Band A customers, urging for a more balanced approach across the band structure.
“The administration has upgraded distribution infrastructure in areas like Festac and Satellite Town through separation of overloaded feeders and replacement of obsolete distribution transformers under Eko DisCo,” Akinrolabu said.
He commended regulatory bodies for tightening performance monitoring and pushing for accountability among electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
“Much progress has been made, but given the extent of infrastructure decay, much more is still neededed, especially in weeding out the ‘black sheep’ within the sector,” he emphasised.
Also speaking, Prof. Barth Nnaji, former Minister of Power and Chairman of Geometric Power, praised the administration for its renewed focus on improving power supply.
Nnaji, however, urged the federal government to lift the suspension on guarantee instruments that support power purchase agreements (PPAs).
“Without PPAs, it’s unrealistic to expect large-scale private investments in power generation. Several viable projects, such as the 1,080MW OMA Power Plant involving Geometric Power and General Electric, and a 500MW ExxonMobil power project, remain stranded,” he said.
He highlighted that General Electric is the world’s oldest and largest electricity equipment manufacturer, while ExxonMobil is the largest petroleum producer in the U.S.—underscoring the scale of opportunity being missed.
Nnaji acknowledged recent announcements by the Minister of Power regarding ongoing and completed transmission projects and commended the consideration of a national 765kV Super Grid.
“This super grid, which I proposed and received FEC approval for in 2012, should be implemented based on technical, not geopolitical, criteria. Its completion would significantly strengthen Nigeria’s transmission capacity,” he said.
He also called for massive investments in the distribution segment, using Geometric Power’s ongoing efforts in Aba as a model.
“We’ve built five new substations, refurbished three old ones, constructed hundreds of kilometres of new power lines, and are rolling out 100,000 smart meters this year, independent of the national metering programme,” Nnaji noted.
He emphasised that such integrated and localised investments are crucial to solving Nigeria’s power distribution challenges..
