The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has said Nigeria’s power generation increased by 34 percent in 2024.
Adelabu made this known at a budget defense session with the Senate Committee on Power on Monday.
The minister said his administration inherited an average generation capacity of 4,100 megawatts (MW) in 2023 and raised it to 5,528 MW by the end of 2024.
“I can tell you authoritatively that by the end of 2024, we had a peak generation of 5,528 MW of power from 4,100 MW of plants,” Adelabu said.
“And the reason for this is not far-fetched. We know that we added a new hydroelectric power dam, Zungeru, of 700 MW, and also there was a tremendous increase in the generation by other existing power generating companies, mainly hydro and thermal plants.”
He also said while the initial target was 6,000 MW, unforeseen challenges such as grid disturbances towards the end of the year prevented him from achieving it.
Adelabu, however, stated that the gap was minor.
Speaking of energy access, Adelabu stated that it increased from 59% at the end of 2023 to 64% by the end of 2024.
“This progress resulted from a combination of grid access expansion and growth in renewable energy initiatives, including solar, small hydro and wind energy projects,” he added.
Despite the achievements, the minister expressed concerns about the metering gap in the country.
He said approximately six million electricity customers are currently metered, while over seven million remain unmetered.
To solve the issue, Adelabu stated that the ministry has acquired a N700 billion money and intends to begin procurement of meters in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025.
He stated that the goal is to buy at least two million meters per year for the next five years.
Adelabu believes the procurement will close the existing meter gap and eliminate all forms of fraud in electricity billing.
