Listen to article
|
The fragility of Nigeria’s national electricity grid is set to persist as ongoing insecurity in the northern region continues to hinder the government’s efforts to repair a vital transmission line. This unresolved challenge leaves the grid vulnerable to repeated collapses, exacerbating an already precarious energy situation across the country.
This revelation came from the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who addressed the Senate Joint Committee on Power during the 2025 budget defense session. His statement underscored the severity of the ongoing challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, pointed to the damage of the Shiroro-Kaduna-Mando line as a key factor exacerbating the grid’s instability. Since the line was taken out of service following a vandalism incident in October 2024, the national electricity infrastructure has been under intense strain, resulting in regular collapses.
“The Kaduna-Shiroro-Mando line was one of the two major lines transmitting power to the north. The second, the Ugwuaji-Makurdi line, was also vandalized but has been repaired. The Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna line, however, remains down due to insecurity,” he said on Monday.
Read also: Nigeria In Darkness As National Grid Collapses Again In 2025
“This is why our grid is so fragile, as it relies on a single line, causing unnecessary strain.”
The minister emphasized that while grid collapses are expected to continue, the government is focused on reducing their frequency and ensuring quick restoration times.
He underscored that the collaboration especially with the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu is critical to addressing vandalism, which remains one of the most significant challenges facing the power sector.
The minister equally announced a N2 trillion budget for the ministry and its agencies, out of which N229 billion belongs to the ministry.
He revealed a N700 billion fund allocated to the Power Metering Initiative (PMI), aimed at significantly reducing the metering gap by next month, to particularly enhance billing transparency and reduce fraud in the system.
“We recognize the issues with full or partial grid collapses, but our focus is on reducing the time it takes to restore power. We are actively collaborating with security agencies to achieve this,” Adelabu said.
The minister also disclosed plans to invest N36 billion in the distribution of transformers across the six geopolitical zones.