President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the commencement of procurement for a massive East and West “Super Grid” project aimed at expanding Nigeria’s electricity transmission capacity from 5,000 megawatts (MW) to 19,000MW within two years.
The initiative seeks to eliminate the severe transmission bottleneck that has historically prevented the national grid from evacuating available generation capacity, which currently exceeds 13,000MW.
Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe disclosed on Wednesday that the proposed corridors will cut across the northern and southern parts of the country, creating a resilient, national backbone for electricity distribution.
₦1.23 Trillion Paid to GenCos
Addressing the persistent financial crisis in the power sector, Tegbe disclosed that the Federal Government has disbursed ₦1.23 trillion out of the ₦3.3 trillion debt owed to Electricity Generation Companies (GenCos). The liquidity injection is intended to enable GenCos to settle gas supply liabilities and ramp up power output.
“It’s a step towards building the future in terms of our power assets,” Tegbe said, emphasizing that ongoing technical audits across major energy hubs—Lagos, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano, and Benin-Enugu-Port Harcourt—will guide targeted investments in replacing obsolete equipment.
Priority Upgrades for Lagos and Abuja
To deliver immediate relief to major economic zones, the Federal Executive Council, FEC approved three targeted infrastructure memoranda:
Abuja: Construction of a double-circuit underground and overhead transmission line around the Katampe hub.
Lagos Region: Design, manufacture, and installation of three high-capacity 300MVA power transformers.
Lagos-Sagamu Corridor: Reconstruction and upgrade of a 35.6-kilometer, 132kV line from single-circuit to double-circuit status.
300 Stranded Containers and Grid Modernization
The minister also revealed that President Tinubu has directed the immediate clearance of over 300 containers containing power equipment that have sat stranded at Nigerian ports for up to two years. The Ministry of Power is partnering with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigeria Customs Service to retrieve the assets, which will undergo technical inspection before deployment.
Additionally, construction has commenced on a state-of-the-art National Control Centre in Osogbo to replace the existing facility built 64 years ago. The new center will streamline real-time grid management between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
Renewable Infrastructure Rollist
Highlighting progress in off-grid power generation, Tegbe noted that solar mini-grids (1MW to 5MW capacity) have already been energized across 14 federal universities—including the University of Abuja, inaugurated three weeks ago. Another 11 university projects are receiving funding through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), alongside active solar deployments across five federal teaching hospitals.
