• World Bank approves $200m for Nigeria’s off-grid power
The Federal Government, through the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, plans to wheel 6,000 megawatts of electricity before December.
Tegbe disclosed this yesterday in Lagos while commissioning two new 100 megavolt-amperes, 132/33 kilovolt power transformers at the Ijora Transmission Substation.
The minister also said the government planned to commission 20 transmission projects before the end of the year as part of efforts to strengthen the nation’s electricity infrastructure and improve the national grid’s capacity to evacuate available generation.
“Let me put on record that the objective of this commitment is not just to generate more megawatts. The objective is to create a power system that can reliably deliver electricity to where it is needed, when it is needed, and at a quality and cost that supports economic activity,” he stated.
The target comes amid renewed investments in the transmission segment, with Tegbe stressing that increasing generation alone would not address Nigeria’s electricity challenges unless the transmission network could reliably move available power to consumers.
Tegbe subsequently commissioned the two 100 MVA, 132/33 kV transformers and associated upgraded facilities, dedicating the project to the people of Lagos and businesses and industries operating in the area.
Earlier, the minister unveiled the 2×60 MVA, 132/33 kV GIS substation on Apapa Road, Lagos. The project was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
“This is my second transmission project commissioning today, and we all agreed that before the end of the year, we should commission 20. The most important thing is to be able to wheel comfortably, 6,000 megawatts before December. Will that happen?” he asked.
Speaking on the significance of the Ijora upgrade, Tegbe said the substation was located within one of Lagos’ important economic corridors, serving industries, ports, commercial centres and communities.
He said the original Ijora substation had three 30 MVA transformers with a combined installed capacity of 90 MVA, which had become inadequate as population, commercial activities and industrial operations expanded.
According to him, two of the existing 30 MVA transformers have now been replaced with two 100 MVA transformers, increasing the total installed capacity from 90 MVA to 230 MVA.
“This improvement represents a substantial intervention. Two of the existing 30 MVA transformers are replaced with two modern 100 MVA, 132/33 kV transformers, resulting in an increase of total installed capacity from 90 MVA to 230 MVA, equivalent to about 184MW. And that represents an additional 125MW of bulk transmission capacity that will translate into real economic value going forward,” he added.
Tegbe said the upgrade would improve electricity supply to Ijora, Costain, Oyigbo, Customs and Ajegunle communities, while supporting businesses and consumers within the Eko Electricity Distribution Company franchise area.
He said strengthening transmission infrastructure was critical to achieving President Bola Tinubu’s ambition of transforming Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy.
Tegbe said transmission had previously been a major hindrance to the country’s power sector, but added that the government is now addressing structural challenges across the electricity value chain.
MEANWHILE, the World Bank has approved $200 million in additional financing to support Nigeria’s off-grid electricity sector, as the country moves to expand access to reliable power through mini-grids and other decentralised energy solutions.
The funding comes under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project, which is designed to increase electricity access for households, businesses and public institutions that remain underserved by Nigeria’s conventional power grid.
The additional financing is expected to support the development of sol;ar mini-grids and other distributed renewable energy systems across several parts of the country. The programme is particularly focused on communities and areas where extending the national grid is either difficult or economically challenging.
The World Bank’s intervention comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with unreliable electricity supply, high energy costs and limited grid coverage. For many businesses, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), unreliable power remains a major operational challenge, forcing them to depend heavily on petrol and diesel generators.
Under the DARES programme, the government and development partners are seeking to scale up private-sector participation in the off-grid electricity market. The initiative is expected to create opportunities for renewable energy companies, mini-grid developers, equipment suppliers and other businesses operating within the clean-energy value chain.
Alongside the additional financing, changes to Nigeria’s mini-grid regulatory framework are expected to reshape how developers operate in the sector.
The new rules are intended to provide clearer guidelines for mini-grid development and improve the regulatory environment for private investors seeking to deploy decentralised power solutions.
A more predictable regulatory framework could encourage additional investment in the sector, particularly as demand for alternative electricity sources continues to grow among households, commercial users and industrial consumers.
For renewable energy businesses, the combination of new financing and regulatory changes could create opportunities to expand mini-grid projects and provide electricity to locations that are poorly served by the national grid.
DARES has reached 5.3 million Nigerians against a target of 16.2 million at the project’s close, with solar home unit deployments at 1.046 million against 2.75 million. The World Bank has released additional funding after Nigeria met four performance conditions, while rating political and macroeconomic risks as high.
