The Federal Government has no immediate plan to increase electricity tariffs, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said.
Tegbe gave the assurance in Abuja on Monday while briefing power correspondents on his first 100 days in office.
He said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was focused on stabilising the electricity value chain, restoring market discipline and strengthening governance in the sector rather than imposing higher tariffs on consumers.
According to the minister, the first 100 days of his tenure, which began on June 8, were devoted to diagnosing and stabilising the power sector.
He said the assessment revealed challenges across the entire electricity value chain, including inadequate gas supply caused by damaged pipelines and commercial conditions that discouraged investment.
Tegbe also identified ageing generation equipment, deferred maintenance, stalled projects and inadequate capacity as major constraints affecting electricity generation.
He said generation companies were receiving only about 27 per cent of their bills, limiting their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers.
The minister said the transmission network was also affected by vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent system tripping.
At the distribution level, he said technical, commercial and collection losses stood between 30 and 40 per cent, while inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged assets and weak payment discipline continued to affect the sector.
Tegbe, however, listed several improvements recorded since he assumed office.
These include the restoration of the 375-megawatt Alaoji open-cycle power plant after three years offline, as well as upgrades to substations at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos, which he said had unlocked 672MW.
He added that the installation of a new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, had unlocked an additional 240MW.
According to him, electricity generation and transmission had risen above 5,000MW in recent weeks, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June, with a peak of 5,330MW recorded in August and September.
The minister also disclosed that more than 300 containers of Transmission Company of Nigeria equipment had been released from the ports.
He said solar and mini-grid projects across 30 states had delivered 43.6MW and provided 41,735 new connections.
Tegbe further disclosed that 350,000 electricity meters were installed within 100 days, bringing cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August, while another 90,000 meters were installed in military formations.
He said about N1.23 trillion had been raised towards settling the N3.3 trillion legacy debt owed to generation companies.
Tegbe said the next six months would focus on deepening grid stabilisation along the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors.
He said the government would also develop a transmission super grid, link electricity supply to productive clusters through bilateral agreements and prepare infrastructure for future demand, including power from the Mambilla hydro project.
The minister urged Nigerians to support the reforms and help protect electricity infrastructure from vandalism and theft.
“Our commitments remain clear: a disciplined approach, grid stability through strategic reform, visible improvements in electricity supply, and honest communication,” he said.