Nigeria has begun procurement for a $2 billion East-West Super Grid designed to raise the country's electricity transmission capacity to at least 19,000 megawatts, Power Minister Joseph Tegbe has announced.

Tegbe disclosed the plan during an interview on TVC Breakfast on Monday, 9 November, saying President Bola Tinubu had approved the project and procurement had commenced. The new transmission corridor will connect major routes through Funtua, Gwagwalada, Ikot-Ekpene, Benin, Epe and Ilorin, and could be completed within two years.

A complement to the existing grid

The minister stressed that the super grid would complement rather than replace Nigeria's existing national grid, adding an extra route for moving electricity between generating plants and consumption centres. He said ageing infrastructure was one of the sector's biggest problems, with some transmission lines and associated facilities more than 50 years old and increasingly vulnerable to breakdowns. A technical audit is under way to identify equipment needing repair, upgrade or replacement.

The government is also targeting 20,000 megawatts of generation, including the 3,000-megawatt Mambilla hydropower project and 21 dams along the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway corridor identified for small hydropower development, with talks under way with investors.

Capacity alone will not fix supply

Expanding transmission capacity will not automatically deliver more electricity to homes and businesses, because supply will still depend on generation companies producing enough power, gas suppliers meeting their obligations and distribution companies maintaining their networks.

The sector also carries heavy debts. Tegbe said about 1.23 trillion naira had been paid towards roughly 3.3 trillion naira owed to generation companies, leaving about 2 trillion naira outstanding. Underused plants run by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, with combined installed capacity above 3,000 megawatts, currently contribute only about 400 megawatts to the grid. Business Post Nigeria and Investors King reported the announcement.