NIGERIA RECORDS 5,330MW POWER GENERATION PEAK AS GRID UPGRADES CONTINUE

Nigeria’s electricity sector has recorded a new generation peak of 5,330 megawatts as the Federal Government continues efforts to improve generation and transmission across the country. The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed the development in Abuja while presenting his scorecard for his first 100 days in office. He said electricity generation and transmission had remained above 5,000MW in recent weeks, compared with the 3,700MW to 4,700MW range recorded before June 2026.

Tegbe said the latest improvement followed a series of interventions aimed at restoring existing power infrastructure, recovering stranded capacity and addressing bottlenecks across the electricity value chain. Among the projects highlighted was the restoration of the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant, which had remained out of operation for about three years before being returned to the national grid. The minister said the government was focused on making better use of existing assets while working on longer-term measures to strengthen the power system.

The minister also disclosed that upgrades at the Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki substations in Lagos had unlocked 672MW of additional transmission capacity. In Abuja, a newly energised 300MVA transformer at the Katampe substation added another 240MW of transmission capacity. More than 300 containers carrying critical power equipment that had been delayed at the nation’s ports were also released following government intervention, with the equipment expected to support ongoing transmission projects and help ease network constraints.

Despite the improvement in national generation figures, Tegbe acknowledged that higher output had not yet translated into reliable electricity for every community. He said the government recognised that consumers in many areas still faced poor supply and the high cost of self-generation. According to him, the next stage would be to sustain the gains already recorded and ensure they result in more dependable electricity at the customer level, with technical audits being carried out along key transmission corridors to identify weaknesses and guide future investments.

Tegbe also ruled out any immediate increase in electricity tariffs, saying the government’s current focus was on stabilising the sector and improving service delivery rather than imposing additional financial pressure on consumers. He said the administration was working across generation, transmission, metering, financing and governance, while efforts were also being made to address the sector’s outstanding liabilities. The minister said the government would continue to measure progress through improvements in supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of electricity faults and customer complaints.