By Peace Udugba
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has unveiled a comprehensive action plan aimed at stabilising and transforming Nigeria’s electricity sector, with a strong emphasis on shared responsibility, transparency, accountability and the protection of critical power infrastructure.
Tegbe disclosed this while delivering the keynote address at the second quarterly Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Stakeholders Meeting, convened by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Abuja.
The meeting, chaired by the Chairman of NERC, Dr. Musiliu Oseni, brought together operators, regulators and policymakers in the power sector. Also in attendance were the Special Adviser to the President on Power, Rilwan Lanre Babalola, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Alhaji Mahmud Mamman.
Presenting his ministerial action plan, Tegbe stressed that the country’s electricity challenges require collective commitment from all stakeholders across the power value chain.
“Nigeria’s power crisis was not built by one hand, and it will not be fixed by one hand,” the minister said, urging generation companies (GenCos), distribution companies (DisCos), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), regulators and government agencies to take shared responsibility for resolving the sector’s challenges.
On infrastructure, Tegbe called for electricity facilities to be officially designated as Critical National Assets, describing vandalism, grid sabotage and energy theft as acts of economic sabotage against Nigerians.
He said protecting existing power infrastructure must go hand in hand with improving operational efficiency, noting that efforts were underway to address transmission bottlenecks, strengthen spinning reserves and upgrade priority substation relays to enhance grid reliability.
The minister also highlighted plans to tackle estimated billing, describing it as a long-standing burden on consumers and a factor that conceals systemic inefficiencies.
According to him, the ministry is working with stakeholders to accelerate nationwide metering, reduce Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses and implement a sustainable tariff transition framework that protects vulnerable consumers while providing investors with the confidence needed for long-term investment.
Speaking on market governance, Tegbe maintained that tariff reforms would only succeed if payment compliance was enforced across the electricity market.
He called for transparent calculations of Derived Remittance Obligations (DRO), insisting that confidence in the sector depends on openness and accountability.
“Trust in the market begins with trust in the numbers,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that the Ministry of Power is developing a framework for the public release of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and performance scorecards for GenCos and DisCos to promote accountability and improve service delivery.
Reaffirming his commitment to the ongoing reforms, Tegbe said his administration would be guided by transparency, speed and accountability.
“Reform is not a promise deferred. It is a discipline being executed every day,” he stated.
