By Summary
- Nigeria needs $10 billion yearly for the next two decades to achieve stable electricity, says Minister of Power
- Over 11 states now have autonomy in power generation, transmission, and distribution
- REF interventions have reached 183 communities, created 26,000+ jobs, and installed 16.6 MW in renewable energy
Nigeria must invest at least $10 billion every year for the next 10 to 20 years to achieve a stable, functional, and reliable electricity supply, according to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.
Speaking at the commissioning of a 2.5-megawatt Solar Hybrid power project at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, Adelabu stressed that financial input alone would not suffice without addressing deep-rooted infrastructure and policy issues.
“This bill has achieved liberation and decentralisation of the power sector to enable all levels of government—federal, state and local council—to legally and morally play roles in the power sector at sub national levels,” he said, referring to the recently signed Energy Bill.
He added that “This has given autonomy to more than eleven states, and more are still coming. They can now play roles in the power sector from generation to transmission to distribution, even metering.”
The minister identified a long-standing infrastructure deficit as a key challenge, attributing it to six decades of inadequate maintenance and limited investment in Nigeria’s transmission grid. “Secondly, we talk about infrastructure deficit, and then we talk about fixing infrastructure deficit, which has piled up over the last 60 years,” Adelabu said.
He also highlighted the pressing need to address Nigeria’s 50% metering gap, stating that the Presidential Initiative on Metering aims to install 18 million meters over the next five years.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), is advancing efforts to power Nigeria’s off-grid communities. At the REF Call 3 Grant Award Signing Ceremony and Access to Finance (A2F) Workshop held in Abuja, the REA announced formalised agreements with 32 renewable energy firms, securing N5.8 billion in private sector investment.
The agency’s Managing Director, Abba Aliyu—represented by Executive Director of Corporate Services, Ayoade Adegboyega—shared the latest achievements under the Rural Electrification Fund (REF).
“REF interventions have so far delivered 16.6 Megawatts (MW) of installed renewable energy capacity, created over 26,000 jobs, and averted 91,720 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions,” he stated.
“These interventions have positively impacted 183 communities across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” he added.
Aliyu also credited complementary programmes such as the Interconnected Mini-grid Acceleration Scheme (IMAS), the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP), and the De-risking Sustainable Off-Grid Lighting Solutions (DSOLS) for advancing off-grid power goals.
“These have demonstrated what is achievable through bold vision and strategic execution,” he noted.
The REF initiatives have so far deployed 124 mini-grids and over 25,580 Solar Home Systems (SHS), supporting 18,013 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
