The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has stated that the growing acts of vandalism targeting vital power transmission infrastructure are impeding the attainment of the ambitious objective of generating 6,000 megawatts of electricity by December 2024.
Adelabu explained that the government had taken steps to attain the milestone and was on track until numerous acts of vandalism to electrical towers derailed the plan.
Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu’s special adviser on strategic communication and media relations, revealed this in an interview when asked about the reasons for the failed projections.
Nigeria presently generates between 4,000 MW and 4,900 MW from 19 power facilities, serving a population of around 200 million people.
According to the most recent operational report, Nigeria’s power generation was 4,363.79 MW as of 6 a.m. on Saturday.
Earlier this year, Adelabu promised to increase power generation to 6,000 MW by the end of the year, citing recent improvements in the sector.
However, frequent grid collapses and tower vandalism have hampered efforts to stabilise the electricity supply.
In a November discussion with journalists, the special adviser expressed optimism that the objective could be met, stating that around 1,000 megawatts had been installed since the present administration took office.
He said, “If you look at the situation when the current administration took over, the generation was just about 4,000 megawatts. However, within a year, about 1,000 megawatts were added.
“By November 27, we again reached a target of 5,231 megawatts. Indeed, a promise of 6,000 megawatts was made, and with what we were doing, we felt it was achievable.
“Unfortunately, the work of vandals set us back a bit. We are not resting on our oars to ensure additional supply to the grid.”
As of November 2024, the Transmission Company of Nigeria reported spending N8.8 billion to repair and rehabilitate 128 vandalised transmission towers around the country.
Adelabu also addressed another challenge confronting the sector: cash backing for subsidy payments, pointing out that only N450 billion was budgeted for the current year, while the debt incurred for subsidy payments totalled N2.3 trillion.
Bolaji said, “One of the key issues has been the cash backing of the subsidy, which relates to debt owed to generation companies and gas companies. This year’s subsidy will be approximately N2.3tn, but only N450bn was budgeted.
“Another issue has been the fragility of the transmission grid due to the level of vandalism.”
Speaking on possible solutions to improve generation in 2025, the media adviser said, “Firstly, the government will make improved provision in the budget for subsidies to ensure payments are made on time. We will continue to push to ensure the market continues to pay for the electricity consumed.
“The committee on revamping ageing equipment is also in place. The Federal Government has increased the budget allocation to the Ministry of Power and its agencies to ensure increased infrastructure investment.
“The minister continues to ensure a conducive environment for private sector participation, as this is the only way to provide the capital required for infrastructure improvements in the power sector,” he concluded.
In the proposed 2025 budget, the power ministry set aside N269.74 billion for special intervention power projects, N47.35 billion for transformer and substation construction, and N36.82 billion as counterpart finance for targeted transmission lines and substations.
