FG rules out electricity tariff hike, says power minister

The Federal Government has said it has no plan to increase electricity tariffs, Punch reports.

Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe disclosed this on Monday at a media parley in Abuja marking his first 100 days in office.

“Let me categorically state, and this is not a political statement, we have no plan to increase electricity tariffs,” he said, adding that the government was instead focused on improving supply and strengthening the sector’s financial and physical foundations.

Tegbe explained that his diagnosis on assuming office revealed constraints across the entire value chain, including gas supply limited by damaged pipelines, an ageing thermal-dependent generation fleet, and generation companies receiving only 27 percent of their billed revenue.

He further disclosed that the 375MW Alaoji plant was restored to the grid after three years offline, while new transformers in Lagos and Abuja unlocked over 900MW of transmission capacity, pushing generation above 5,000MW in recent weeks compared to 3,700–4,700MW before June.

On the financial side, Tegbe said the government had raised N1.23tn toward the sector’s N3.3tn debt backlog and installed 350,000 new meters during the period.

Looking ahead, the minister said the government would now focus on stabilising key transmission corridors and building a Transmission Super Grid, with progress to be measured over the next six months.