Presidential Metering Initiative Provides 2.8m Electricity Meters – Tegbe
…PCAN Raises Alarm Over Seasonal Decline in Electricity Generation
By Kelvin Alohan
The Federal Government has provided more than 2.8 million electricity meters to customers under the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) as part of efforts to reduce revenue losses associated with unmetered electricity consumption, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said.
Tegbe disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the opening address at the sixth Annual Conference of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PCAN), themed, “$1 Trillion Economy: Nigeria’s Roadmap to Reliable and Affordable Power Supply.”
The minister, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Administration and Projects, Martins Olajide, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had made significant interventions to address longstanding financial and infrastructure challenges in the electricity sector over the past three and a half years.
He said the president had approved a N3.3 trillion plan to settle verified legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies, adding that N1.23 trillion had so far been raised under the initiative.
“We have raised N1.23 trillion under that plan, easing the pressure on generators and improving their ability to pay for gas and maintain their plants,” he said.
Tegbe also highlighted the contributions of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in extending solar electricity to universities, hospitals and rural communities.
He disclosed that construction had commenced on a new ultramodern National Grid Control Centre in Osogbo to replace the existing facility, which was built more than 60 years ago.
According to him, reliable and affordable electricity remains central to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the country’s economic ambition must be driven by increased production rather than consumption, stressing that sustainable industrial growth would depend largely on the availability of dependable and commercially viable electricity.
“That ambition cannot rest on consumption alone. It must rest on production. And production, at scale, must rest on reliable, affordable and commercially sustainable electricity,” he said.
The minister identified vandalism as another major challenge confronting the power sector, noting that attacks on critical infrastructure continued to disrupt electricity supply.
He said Tinubu had approved a coordinated anti-vandalism campaign involving relevant security agencies, supported by a strengthened legal framework to protect electricity assets, deter sabotage and ensure offenders were held accountable.
Tegbe urged journalists to sustain their public enlightenment role by providing citizens with accurate information to enable them to make informed decisions and participate meaningfully in national development.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of FGN Power Company Limited, Kenny Anuwe, said Nigeria could not achieve its $1 trillion economic ambition if government continued to shoulder almost the entire investment burden in the electricity sector.
Delivering the keynote address, Anuwe said the Federal Government had invested more than N10 trillion in the power sector since privatisation, noting that the industry would not have survived without such interventions.
However, he described the investment as inadequate compared with the country’s economic aspirations, pointing out that government accounted for more than 95 per cent of new infrastructure investments in the sector.
According to him, the situation contradicts the objectives of privatisation, which was designed to encourage greater private sector participation and investment.
He argued that government should concentrate on providing the necessary infrastructure, policy support and market conditions to enable both public and private capital to deliver sustainable improvements.
…PCAN Raises Alarm Over Seasonal Decline in Electricity Generation
Earlier, PCAN Chairman, Obas Esiedesa, identified the recurring seasonal decline in electricity generation, particularly between November and March, as one of the critical challenges requiring urgent intervention.
He explained that reduced water inflows into hydroelectric power stations during the period often affected generation, while gas supply constraints to thermal power plants further worsened electricity shortages.
Esiedesa called on the government, regulators, generation companies and gas suppliers to strengthen collaboration and establish sustainable arrangements to guarantee adequate gas supply to thermal power plants, particularly during periods of reduced hydropower generation.
He also identified inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, liquidity challenges, investment gaps and regulatory uncertainties as major constraints requiring attention to improve efficiency across the electricity value chain.
The PCAN chairman stressed that reliable and affordable electricity remained fundamental to achieving Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy ambition.
“No economy can sustainably attain significant growth without adequate and dependable power supply to support industries, businesses and households,” he added.
Subscribe To Newsletter
