Nigeria rules out immediate electricity tariff increase

Nigeria's Federal Government has no immediate plan to raise electricity tariffs, Power Minister Joseph Tegbe said on Monday, September 21, 2026, as he presented an account of his first 100 days in office to power correspondents in Abuja. Tegbe, who assumed office on June 8, said his initial period was devoted to diagnosing and stabilising the power sector rather than imposing additional costs on consumers. He said constraints existed at every segment of the electricity value chain, from gas supply limited by damaged pipelines and discouraging commercial terms, to an ageing generation fleet, vandalised transmission infrastructure, and distribution losses of 30 to 40 per cent. He noted that only 27 per cent of generation companies' bills were being paid, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers, and that arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies exceeded N100 billion. Citing operational records, Tegbe said generation and transmission had exceeded 5,000MW in recent weeks, up from a range of 3,700MW to 4,700MW before June, peaking at 5,330MW in August and September.