Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed on Thursday that the nation’s power sector revenue increased by N700 billion in 2024, representing 70% increase year-on-year when compared to the revenue generated in the sector in 2023.
Adelabu, who made this disclosure during the 6th edition of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing Series held in Abuja, attributed the improvement in the sector’s revenue to transformational policy initiatives of the government to enhance the tariff regime in the sector.
He explained: “It is evident that, due to our transformative tariff reforms, the electricity market generated additional N700 billion revenue in 2024, reflecting a 70 per cent increase from what was collected in 2023,” Adelabu said.
“This resulted from the cost-reflective tariff adjustment for Band A customers. This growth in market revenue is unprecedented, as the highest growth previously achieved was 20 per cent.
“This positively impacts the reduction of the government-subsidised tariff shortfall by 35 per cent, decreasing it from N3 trillion to N1.9 trillion”, the minister added.
Adelabu, who maintained that the performance demonstrated that financial viability and improved service delivery can coexist within Nigeria’s electricity value chain if appropriate reforms are sustained, spoke on the government’s sustained drive for energy access nationwide and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
According to him, Nigeria’s endorsement of the Nigerian Energy Compact, which was signed in January during a summit held in Tanzania, a flagship initiative under the leadership of the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), aims at significantly scaling up access to electricity.
Specifically, he pointed out that the target of M300 initiative was to extend energy access to an additional 300 million Africans by 2030 out of the 600 million currently lacking access.
Adelabu explained that the initiative was anchored on a five-pronged strategy, including expanding electricity generation capacity to meet growing demand, strengthening the operational and financial stability of power utilities, and creating incentives to attract greater private sector participation, with a view to remarkably transforming the power sector.
The minister said the strategy focused on accelerating the adoption of renewable energy sources and promoting the integration of regional energy markets to foster cross-border collaboration and efficiency, adding that the Compact also aims to promote clean cooking solutions and improve Nigeria’s overall energy mix, with a strong emphasis on renewables and sustainability.
On the power sector’s policy direction and the reform initiatives, Adelabu recalled that in line with the Electricity Act 2023, his ministry had developed the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) to provide a long-term roadmap for reform and modernization.
He pointed out that the NIEP already submitted to the Federal Executive Council for approval, would serve as a guiding framework for all power sector actors, including investors, operators, regulators, and government agencies, as the policy was built on a data-driven and evidence-based approach to planning and operations, ensuring transparency, accountability, and improved investor confidence.
It would be recalled that in January this year, the AfDB and the World Bank Group pledged $40 billion to support Nigeria in the implementation of the Mission 300 initiative, designed to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
