NEWS
FG Approves New Eastern-Western Electricity Grid to Tackle Nigeria’s Persistent Power Grid Collapses
The Federal Government has approved plans to develop new Eastern and Western electricity grids as part of a major intervention aimed at addressing Nigeria’s persistent power grid collapses and strengthening the country’s fragile electricity transmission infrastructure.
The proposed projects are expected to improve the stability and reliability of electricity transmission across the country, particularly along critical economic corridors, as the government moves to tackle decades-old structural challenges undermining power supply.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed the development at the recent HBSAN energy conference in Lagos, where he outlined the government’s strategy for reforming the power sector through infrastructure expansion, comprehensive technical assessments and targeted investments.
According to the minister, the government is preparing to commence the procurement process for the new transmission projects, with Nigerians expected to begin experiencing their benefits within two to three years.
Tegbe explained that the administration had identified three major energy zones based on demand and the concentration of electricity-related challenges, noting that addressing problems along the Lagos and Abuja corridors would resolve a substantial portion of the country’s power transmission difficulties.
“We have clustered Nigeria into three energy zones. The first one is the one that demands 50 per cent.
“If you fix Lagos and you fix the Abuja corridors, you’ve solved more than half of the problem of Nigeria. Because you can’t do that alone based on operational efficiency, you also have to build out your grid.
“The President has approved that we commence the process of building out the grid: East and Western grid.
“We’re going through the procurement process, but it’s something you’ll see the benefits in two to three years,” the Minister said.
The planned development of the Eastern and Western grids represents a significant component of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen transmission capacity, improve the movement of electricity across regions and reduce vulnerabilities within the national grid.
Nigeria has repeatedly experienced nationwide and partial grid collapses, disrupting electricity supply to homes, businesses, industries and public institutions. The recurring incidents have intensified concerns over the condition of transmission infrastructure and the ability of the existing network to reliably convey electricity from generation stations to distribution companies.
Beyond the proposed grid expansion, Tegbe revealed that the Federal Government had commenced a nationwide technical audit of electricity infrastructure to establish the precise nature of the problems affecting transmission facilities and determine which areas require urgent attention.
The minister stressed that the assessment would help the government avoid misdirecting public funds towards equipment that was not responsible for particular failures. He explained that identifying the actual causes of faults was essential to ensuring that repairs and replacement programmes delivered meaningful improvements.
“We have started a technical audit across the entire country to say where do we have issues, and what issues specifically do we have.
“I don’t want to fix transformer issues where I have conductor and relay problems. I don’t want to fix insulators where the challenges I actually have are towers.
“So, we will finish that technical audit in the next couple of weeks. When we finish it, we then target our prioritised areas,” he said.
The audit is expected to provide the government with a clearer picture of the condition of transmission equipment nationwide, allowing officials to distinguish between problems involving transformers, conductors, relays, insulators and transmission towers.
By identifying the most critical weaknesses before committing resources, the government hopes to prioritise interventions according to urgency and technical requirements, rather than undertaking repairs that fail to address the underlying causes of electricity disruptions.
Tegbe also highlighted the age of Nigeria’s electricity transmission infrastructure as a major factor contributing to the difficulties confronting the sector, noting that some facilities had remained in service for decades without the comprehensive renewal required to meet modern electricity demands.
He said his experience inspecting some of the facilities had changed his understanding of the challenges facing electricity-sector operators, revealing that the problems extended beyond operational shortcomings to include ageing equipment and deteriorating transmission structures.
“This government has inherited a problem of 50 years. Before I became the Minister of Power, honestly, I used to think that everybody in the power sector just didn’t know their left from right.
“But the reality is, some of the towers have gone down with some of the transmission lines there.
“When I went to the site, I saw some of them carrying the logo of ECN.
“Many people in this room might not know what ECN is. ECN predated NEPA.
“So, some of these things were built 50 years ago. That is the reality,” he stated.
The minister’s remarks underscore the scale of the infrastructure challenge confronting the Federal Government as it seeks to improve electricity supply in Africa’s most populous nation. The Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) preceded the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), highlighting how some elements of the transmission network date back to earlier phases of the country’s electricity development.
Ageing transmission towers, deteriorating lines and other infrastructure deficiencies can undermine the network’s ability to transmit electricity safely and efficiently, particularly as demand grows and the power system faces increasing pressure.
The proposed Eastern and Western grids, alongside the nationwide technical audit, are therefore intended to form part of a coordinated response to the sector’s long-standing problems.
However, the success of the initiative will depend on the timely completion of the technical assessment, effective procurement, adequate financing and the execution of critical transmission projects within the announced timeframe.
For millions of Nigerians and businesses that continue to contend with unreliable electricity supply, the government’s announcement raises expectations that sustained investment in transmission infrastructure could help reduce grid disruptions and improve the overall stability of the country’s power system.
With procurement preparations underway and the technical audit expected to be completed within weeks, attention will now turn to the implementation of the approved projects and whether the planned two-to-three-year timeline will translate into tangible improvements in electricity delivery across Nigeria.