The Federal Government has invested more than N10 trillion in Nigeria's electricity sector since privatisation in 2013, but the intervention has failed to deliver the reliable power supply intended by the 2013 reform, according to the Managing Director of FGN Power Company Limited, Kenny Anuwe. Anuwe made the disclosure at the sixth annual conference of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday, where stakeholders examined the country's roadmap to reliable and affordable electricity. Despite successive government interventions, electricity supply has remained unstable, with inadequate generation, gas shortages, weak transmission and distribution infrastructure, mounting sector debts and poor investment continuing to undermine the industry.
Anuwe acknowledged that government funding had been significant but was insufficient and unsustainable, noting that the Federal Government was responsible for more than 95 per cent of new infrastructure investment in the sector. He called for increased private sector participation and alternative financing models to accelerate infrastructure development. The FGN Power Company is targeting an investment structure that could attract investment, with the Africa Finance Corporation expected to match the amount. Anuwe said the country needed simpler investment structures, predictable regulations, clear institutional responsibilities and commercially viable projects to attract private capital.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed that the Federal Government had raised N1.23 trillion under its N3.3 trillion plan to settle verified legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies. He said more than 2.8 million electricity customers have been metered under the Presidential Metering Initiative, while additional transmission capacity exceeding 15,000 megavolt-amperes had been added to the national grid between 2023 and October 2026. The government was adopting a corridor-based approach to improve electricity supply in major economic centres, beginning with the Lagos-Ogun axis and Abuja franchise area, which together account for more than 50 per cent of national electricity demand.
Tegbe said FGN Power's ongoing Presidential Power Initiative projects were expected to deliver additional transmission capacity, with a target of 5,540 megawatts by 2029 and at least 60 per cent improvement in grid reliability. Most of the ongoing first-phase transmission substation and line projects were now expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027, following delays. The Minister said the government had developed a four-pronged roadmap to address sector challenges through grid stabilisation, sector liquidity and sustainability, asset optimisation and expansion and enhancement of the national grid. Vandalism has been identified as a major threat to electricity infrastructure, and President Bola Tinubu has approved a coordinated anti-vandalism campaign involving security agencies.
For savers, borrowers, business owners and investors in Nigeria, the continued heavy reliance on government funding for power infrastructure development means that private sector investment remains limited, affecting the pace of infrastructure expansion and the commercial viability of electricity-dependent ventures.