President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the commencement of procurement for the proposed East and West Super Grid, a federal initiative designed to ramp up Nigeria’s electricity transmission capacity from approximately 5,000 megawatts to 19,000MW within two years.
Speaking after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe explained that the upcoming corridors will traverse both northern and southern regions to reinforce the existing network and accommodate an available generation capacity exceeding 13,000MW.
Alongside the super grid, the government has cleared N1.23 trillion out of the N3.3 trillion legacy debt owed to electricity generation companies to ease severe liquidity constraints and improve gas supply to power plants.
The Federal Executive Council also greenlit three memoranda aimed at upgrading transmission infrastructure around Abuja and the Lagos axis, encompassing a double-circuit underground and overhead transmission line near Katampe, the supply of three 300MVA power transformers for Lagos, and the reconstruction of a 35.6-kilometre line along the Lagos-Sagamu corridor into a double-circuit configuration.
These interventions form part of an aggressive strategy to stabilize the national grid, replace ageing equipment, and address findings from an ongoing technical audit across major energy zones.
The Minister also revealed that President Tinubu has directed the immediate clearance of over 300 containers of power equipment that have remained stranded at the nation’s ports for up to two decades, with technical experts slated to inspect and deploy serviceable items following their release.
To modernise national grid management, he also revealed that construction has already kicked off on a brand-new National Control Centre in Osogbo to replace the 64-year-old legacy facility, while completed substations left idle by previous administrations are being progressively energised.
The Minister added that the administration is expanding clean energy access through solar mini-grids ranging from one to five megawatts deployed across 14 federal universities, alongside additional projects funded by TETFund and collaborations with the Ministry of Health.
