Nigeria Power Minister addresses infrastructure vandalism and tariff shortfalls

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has convened a ministerial committee to combat the recurring vandalism of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. The high-level meeting included security stakeholders such as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to treat power assets as a top national security priority.

Simultaneously, Minister Tegbe stated that the Federal Government can no longer sustain the financial burden of electricity tariff shortfalls. He cited challenges including poor revenue collection, inadequate metering, and outstanding debts to generation companies. To improve financial sustainability, the government is considering transitioning from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) model to bilateral electricity agreements.

Addressing the metering gap, which currently stands at approximately 40 per cent, the Minister noted that while 700,000 meters have been deployed in the last six months, the government aims to install 7.5 million meters over the next two to three years.