FG approves East and West super grids to raise transmission capacity to 19,000MW

The Federal Government has approved the commencement of procurement for the proposed East and West Super Grids, targeting an increase in electricity transmission capacity from about 5,000 megawatts to 19,000MW within two years.

Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe announced the approval on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Tegbe said the projects would strengthen the national electricity network, improve resilience and enable more power to reach consumers across the country.

“The East and West Super Grids are not projects for one part of the country,” he said. “They cut across the north and south of Nigeria, strengthening the backbone that must carry power from where it is generated to where it is needed.” According to the minister, Nigeria has more than 13,000MW of available generation capacity, but the transmission network can reliably carry only about 5,000MW.

He said the proposed grids would address that imbalance, reduce instability and improve electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries. “The target is simple,” Tegbe said. “We want a grid that can evacuate the power we already have, not one that leaves generation stranded while consumers remain in darkness.”

He explained that the transmission corridors would strengthen connections from Sokoto through Abuja and other locations into parts of southern Nigeria. Beyond the super grids, the council approved three immediate interventions serving Abuja and the Lagos axis.

The first involves a 33kV double-circuit underground and overhead line connected to the Katampe Transmission Substation, a major electricity hub serving the North-Central region. The second covers the design, manufacture and supply of three 300MVA, 330/132/33kV transformers for the Ikeja West Transmission Substation, a critical supply point for Lagos.

The third project will reconstruct and upgrade the 35.6-kilometre Itumola–Mapasin–Shagamu 132kV single-circuit transmission line into a double-circuit line to meet growing demand along the Lagos–Shagamu corridor. “These are not glamorous projects, but they are the projects that determine whether power actually gets to the consumer,” Tegbe said. The minister explained that the high-capacity transformers would be manufactured abroad because Nigeria does not yet have the capacity to produce equipment of that specification.

“Some companies have started assembling transformers locally, but these large units require specialised manufacturing,” he said. “They can take between three and six months to produce, and global demand is rising because of artificial intelligence and data centres.” Tegbe also disclosed that the ministry had begun a nationwide technical audit to identify ageing and weak electricity assets requiring replacement or rehabilitation.

He said the exercise, which had been running for four weeks, divided the country into three major energy zones: Lagos and its industrial corridor, Abuja–Kaduna–Kano, and Enugu–Onitsha–Benin. “We will no longer spend money on the wrong projects,” he said. “The audit will show us exactly where the system is failing and where investment will deliver measurable impact.”

He added that the government was prioritising the Lagos–Ogun, Benin–Edo–Port Harcourt and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano corridors. According to him, the Lagos–Ogun corridor alone accounts for about half of national energy demand. On the sector’s financial challenges, Tegbe said the Federal Government had paid ₦1.23 trillion out of ₦3.3 trillion owed to gas suppliers and other power-sector stakeholders.

He said the liabilities had restricted gas supplies to electricity generation companies and weakened confidence across the electricity value chain. “We have paid ₦1.23 trillion, and we intend to finish the job,” he said. “But we must also stop new debts from accumulating.”

The minister said the payment was made through bonds under the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme. He explained that the programme was intended to improve liquidity for generation companies, support gas supply and restore investor confidence. Tegbe added that the government was reviewing the electricity market structure to strengthen payment discipline and prevent fresh arrears. He also disclosed that Tinubu had directed the Ministry of Power, Nigerian Ports Authority and Nigeria Customs Service to clear more than 300 containers of electricity equipment stranded at the nation’s ports.

Some of the containers had reportedly remained uncleared for between 14 and 20 years. “It is unacceptable that equipment meant to strengthen the grid has been sitting at the ports for years,” Tegbe said. “The President has directed that this must be resolved.” He attributed the backlog to the failure of previous administrations to settle outstanding charges and complete clearance procedures.

After the containers are released, technical experts will inspect the equipment to determine which items remain serviceable and can be deployed. Obsolete materials will be disposed of appropriately. The minister said construction had also commenced on a new National Control Centre in Osogbo to replace the existing facility, which he described as 64 years old. “The new control centre will give us modern tools to monitor and manage the national grid,” he said.

The ministry is also bringing completed transmission substations into operation in Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe and other locations. Alongside those projects, Tegbe said the government was expanding solar mini-grids for institutions affected by transmission constraints.

Fourteen federal universities have received installed and energised mini-grids with capacities ranging from 1MW to 5MW, while another 11 are receiving support through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. Five teaching hospitals are also benefiting from solar installations being implemented in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health.

Tegbe said the administration would continue to prioritise grid stability, infrastructure rehabilitation, improved liquidity and renewable energy investment. “Our goal is not just to announce projects,” he said. “It is to build a power system that Nigerians can depend on.”