The Federal Government has announced that it has no plan to increase electricity tariffs. The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, recently had his say at a media parley in Abuja, marking his first 100 days in office.
Stressing that the government is focused on improving electricity supply and strengthening the financial and physical foundations of the power sector, Tegbe declared that the FG will not impose additional costs on consumers anytime soon.
He added that the power sector is currently constrained across the entire value chain, with interconnected problems that cannot be solved by simply adding new generation capacity.
His words, “Let me categorically state, and this is not a political statement, we have no plan to increase electricity tariffs.
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as Minister of Power, I made four promises to Nigerians. I promised a disciplined approach to solving the sector’s problems. I promised to pursue grid stability through structured, strategic reforms. I promised visible incremental improvements.
Upon assuming office, the diagnosis we undertook at the onset revealed constraints at every segment of the electricity value chain. Gas supply to power stations was limited by damaged pipelines and commercial terms that discouraged investment.
Our generation fleet was heavily dependent on thermal plants, with ageing equipment, deferred maintenance, stalled projects and capacity unable to reach consumers. The sector diagnosis revealed payment of only 27 per cent of generation companies’ bills, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers.
Across the market, inflation and foreign exchange pressures raised costs. Arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies exceeded 100 billion naira. Debts continued to accumulate, regulatory uncertainty weakened confidence, and inconsistent data made it difficult to establish a common factual basis for decisions.
Substantial development-finance commitments also required better coordination to translate funding opportunities into electricity delivered.
These problems reinforce one another. Unpaid bills weaken gas supply and maintenance; unreliable supply depresses collections; poor collections deepen debt. A new power station cannot, by itself, resolve that cycle.
Sustainable improvement requires us to repair the physical system and the commercial relationships that keep it functioning.
National progress can coexist with an unreliable feeder in a particular community. So, when we say that there are improvements in certain places, we do not categorically deny the experiences of those that are yet to benefit.
Our original commitment to visible, incremental improvements remains the benchmark. We will report progress against that benchmark, including changes in supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of faults and complaints.”
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