The Federal Government has acknowledged ongoing challenges with the national electricity grid, revealing there is no immediate end to its frequent collapses. Speaking at the Senate Committee on Power’s 2025 budget defense, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, attributed the persistent failures to unresolved issues, including vandalism and insecurity.
Adelabu, appearing before the Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe-led committee, detailed the fragile state of the national grid, emphasizing that failures will persist until significant repairs and upgrades are undertaken. He highlighted the critical Shiroro-Kaduna-Mando transmission line, which has been out of service since October 2024 following a vandalism attack.
According to the minister, the failure of this key line has placed immense pressure on the grid, forcing it to rely on a single transmission route, the Ugwuaji-Makurdi line, which has since been repaired after a similar attack. This imbalance, he noted, has resulted in frequent collapses.
Despite the grim outlook, Adelabu assured lawmakers that the government is working to reduce the frequency of collapses and improve restoration times. He cited ongoing collaborations with security agencies to address vandalism and protect critical infrastructure.
The minister revealed plans to invest ₦36 billion in transformer distribution across the six geopolitical zones and begin Phase 1 of a major upgrade of five sub-stations nationwide. However, he lamented that over seven million customers remain subjected to estimated billing due to infrastructural deficiencies.
While addressing the collapses, Adelabu clarified that eight grid failures occurred in 2024, contrary to reports of 12. Of these, five were full collapses, with three attributed to generation issues and two linked to vandalism. The remaining three incidents were partial collapses caused by imbalances in power distribution.
“Our focus is on reducing the time it takes to restore power after a collapse. We are actively working with security agencies to safeguard infrastructure and address the root causes of these failures,” Adelabu said.
He further described the grid as outdated and fragile, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive overhauls to meet the nation’s energy demands effectively.
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