As part of a broader programme of addressing the power sector debt estimated at N3.3 trillion, the Power Ministry has raised about N1.23 trillion towards settling the backlog of outstanding debt.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, made the disclosure on Monday at a media session with senior journalists in Abuja.
Tegbe said improving liquidity was essential because the financial weakness of one segment of the value chain could undermine the performance of others.
“Unpaid bills weaken gas supply and maintenance; unreliable supply depresses collections; poor collections deepen debt,” he explained.
Tegbe also said interventions along the Ikorodu-Sagamu industrial corridor had addressed energy theft and revenue losses estimated at N120 billion annually.
The Power Minister, who identified metering as central to restoring market discipline and strengthening consumer confidence, revealed that the agency installed about 350,000 meters in the first 100 days, with cumulative installations reaching 1,004,260 as of August 2026.
He further disclosed that the resolution of the AMMON litigation had unlocked procurement of approximately 1.4 million smart meters, while metering of military formations had reached 90,000 installations.
To support continued deployment, 5,000 young Nigerians are undergoing training as smart-meter installers under the Power Force programme.
Tegbe said these measures were designed to replace disputed estimates with measured consumption while improving billing and revenue accountability.
He maintained that the Ministry’s immediate priority had been to stabilise the electricity value chain before embarking on large-scale expansion.
He disclosed that the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant had been restored to the national grid after three years offline. At the same time, network interventions in Lagos and Abuja had unlocked an additional 912MW of transmission capacity.
According to the Minister, new transformers commissioned at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki unlocked 672MW, while a 300MVA transformer energised at Katampe unlocked another 240MW.
Tegbe said generation and transmission had exceeded 5,000MW over recent weeks, compared with the 3,700MW–4,700MW range before June, while a generation peak of 5,330MW was recorded during August and September.
He said the Ministry was nevertheless focused on converting system-level improvements into dependable electricity at customer level.
On transmission equipment, the Minister said the Ministry, working with relevant government agencies, facilitated the release of more than 300 containers of critical power equipment held at the ports.
He said the equipment would now be inspected, deployed and installed to support transmission infrastructure upgrades.
The Minister said the release addressed the contradiction of having unfinished power projects while critical equipment remained stranded in storage.
Still giving a stewardship account of his hundred days in office, Tegbe said the next phase would deepen grid stabilisation along the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors. At the same time, technical audits had commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and guide investment.
He said the Ministry would also continue work towards the Transmission Super Grid, improve utilisation of existing generation and distribution assets, and prepare infrastructure for future electricity demand.