He said it costs N120 to generate 1kilowatt per hour of electricity while the large part of consumers still pay as low as N65 per unit.
He spoke during an oversight visit by the Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Power to his office in Abuja.
According to him, the cost does not include other charges paid by power utilities in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
“Those in Band A are paying 209 while Band B is paying N65, the average cost of producing one kilowatt per hour of electricity, its generating cost, is not less than 120 before we have the evacuation and wheeling and distribution charges. So anybody paying N65 or N58 is paying way below the cost and that is what the federal government is still subsidizing,” Adelabu said.He added that the government wants to accelerate the infrastructure in the sector to migrate more customers to Band A.
The minister Power said there is the need to review tariffs of other bands to rescue the sector from illiquidity.
“Probably in the next six months, we may have to go to the president and present a new tariff policy that will dictate how much will be paid by other bands but we don’t want that route now,”
He added that for the first time in three years, the power sector has achieved generation, transmission, and distribution of 5,155.99 megawatts of power.
“Precisely on the 8th of August, 2024. When this administration came in, we met an average of 4,000 megawatts of power being generated and transmitted. So I believe that 5,000 megawatts is not something we should celebrate. But if you look at it from the perspective of 5,000 megawatts, 2,000 megawatts were achieved in 1984, for Nigeria. It took us over 35 years to achieve an additional 2,000 megawatts that took us to 4,000,” Adelabu said.
Also Speaking Engr . Abdulziz Sule the Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said the government-owned firm needs N1.5 trillion to deliver 129 capital projects in three years.
He described lack of funds to complete projects, aging equipment, infrastructure vandalization among others as major factors challenging the effective transmission of electricity in Nigeria.
Speaking during the visit of the House of Representatives Committee on Power to his office in Abuja, Sule said effective grid management has significantly improved the reliability of the grid network.
He added that With ongoing efforts such as increasing grid visibility through expansion, maintenance, and management plans, TCN is confident in achieving a stable, efficient, and robust grid network, despite existing challenges.
He noted that the company has implemented effective frequency control mechanisms to maintain grid stability and power quality. Through optimized load balancing techniques, TCN has reduced the instances of partial and full system collapses, ensuring a consistent and reliable power supply to consumers.
He added that grid automation and implementation of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) have commenced, describing SCADA as the systems that will enable real-time monitoring and control of the power grid.
He added that this technological advancement will significantly improve grid stability, reduce transmission losses, and allow for quicker response to faults.
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