The Federal Government is holding advanced negotiations with China’s Export-Import Bank for a $2 billion facility to develop a new electricity super grid aimed at improving power transmission nationwide.

Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, revealed the plan during an economic summit in Abuja, explaining that the project is designed to strengthen supply to industrial regions in the east and west while promoting decentralised generation.

Adelabu said the initiative would help restore confidence in the national grid and attract major consumers who abandoned it due to frequent power disruptions.

Bloomberg reported that the proposal has already secured cabinet approval, and discussions with China’s Exim Bank are moving forward.

Nigeria’s generation capacity stands at about 13 gigawatts, but only a fraction reaches consumers because of transmission failures and repeated system collapses. In contrast, South Africa—whose population is about a quarter of Nigeria’s—has around 70 gigawatts of installed capacity.

The minister noted that the new grid would enhance power flow to manufacturing zones, stimulate production, and attract more investment into the sector.

Since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, the government has pursued a series of economic reforms, including scrapping fuel subsidies, restructuring taxes, and improving security in oil-rich regions. It has also approved electricity tariff adjustments for certain urban consumers to boost the sector’s revenue base.

Adelabu added that these reforms led to a 70 percent revenue increase for power distribution firms in 2024, with earnings projected to rise to ₦2.4 trillion ($1.6 billion) by the end of 2025.