The Federal Government has disclosed that it wants to attract up to $15 billion in private investments into the power sector.
The Government also unveiled plans to increase the electricity tariff for Nigerians, to reflect the full cost Nigerian government still spends trillions of naira on energy subsidy despite removing subsidy for Band-A subscribers last year.
Although the Government removed subsidies for about 15% of urban households last year, tripling tariffs, authorities still spent N2.2 trillion on subsidies. However, the Government’s new plan aims to implement full-cost tariffs by 2027 while providing a buffer for vulnerable households.
The FG also plans to double the number of households connected to the grid annually and boost renewable energy from 22% to 50% of the generation mix within five years. This is part of a broader effort to address a massive $23 billion funding gap in the power sector and bring electricity to the 86 million Nigerians still living in the dark.
At a World Bank energy summit in Tanzania, the Government outlined a plan that combines higher electricity tariffs with fresh subsidies to ease the burden on households. Under the proposal, households will receive 50 kilowatt hours of subsidised electricity monthly, either through direct consumption or vouchers.
Despite being Africa’s top natural gas producer with abundant hydro and solar resources, Nigeria generates a paltry 13,000 megawatts of electricity for over 200 million people.
