The Federal Government is seeking greater private sector investment in Nigeria’s electricity industry, following more than N10tn spent on the sector since its privatisation in 2013.
Managing Director of FGN Power Company Limited, Kenny Anuwe, said government funding had helped sustain the industry but had not delivered the level of electricity supply expected after the privatisation exercise.
He made this known on Thursday at the sixth annual conference of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja, where industry stakeholders discussed ways to achieve reliable and affordable electricity.
Anuwe said the government could no longer shoulder most of the responsibility for developing power infrastructure, noting that it accounts for more than 95 per cent of new investments in the sector.
He argued that greater private sector participation was necessary to improve infrastructure and address the industry’s long-standing challenges.
According to him, attracting private investors would require simpler financing arrangements, predictable regulations, clear institutional responsibilities and projects capable of generating commercial returns.
He also disclosed that FGN Power Company was working towards an investment framework capable of attracting $18bn in funding. The company is also targeting at least $1bn in capitalisation, with the Africa Finance Corporation expected to provide a matching amount.
On infrastructure development, Anuwe said projects under the Presidential Power Initiative were expected to increase transmission capacity to 5,540 megawatts by 2029 and improve grid reliability by at least 60 per cent.
The projects include a second batch of 12 Siemens substations and other installations involving Omotosho, which are expected to provide a combined additional capacity of nearly 3,400MW.
Also speaking at the conference, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the Federal Government had developed a four-part strategy to address the industry’s challenges.
He identified grid stabilisation, improved sector liquidity, asset optimisation and expansion of transmission infrastructure as the key areas of the plan.
Tegbe disclosed that the government had raised N1.23tn from its N3.3tn programme to clear verified outstanding debts owed to electricity generation companies.
He added that more than 2.8 million electricity customers had received meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative, while over 15,000 megavolt-amperes had been added to the national grid’s transmission capacity between 2023 and October 2026.
The minister also said recently installed substation equipment across several locations, including Apapa, Ijora, Ikeja, Kumbotso and Dan-Agundi, had contributed more than 1,300MVA to transmission capacity in the past two months.
Nigeria’s electricity industry continues to face challenges, including inadequate power generation, gas supply constraints, weak transmission and distribution infrastructure, rising debts and insufficient investment.
