Electricity: Biggest Constraint Is In Transmission, Some Transmission Lines As Age As 50years —Tegbe

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has explained that technical challenges affecting thermal power plants and ageing transmission infrastructure are limiting Nigeria’s electricity generation. Tegbe spoke during an interview on TVC News on Monday, November 9, 2026, where he discussed the gap between the country’s installed generation capacity and the electricity currently being produced.

The minister said some thermal power plants could not be shut down easily for maintenance because they required considerable time to recover once they stopped operating. “And some of these thermal plants are difficult. You can’t shut them down for repair. When they go down, you need some time for them to recover,” Tegbe said.

According to him, Nigeria has an installed electricity generation capacity of approximately 13,625 megawatts but has only been able to generate about 5,000 megawatts because of various constraints. “So you find out that today, the installed capacity that we have in generation is about 13,625 megawatts. But we’ve only been able to do 5,000 megawatts because of some of those constraints,” he stated.

Tegbe also identified operational challenges at the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, saying the facility had more than 3,000 megawatts of capacity but was generating only about 400 megawatts. “Take the Niger Delta Power Holding Company. We have over capacity for 3,000 megawatts. But today, we only have about 400 megawatts out of there. So there are a few constraints there which we are trying to fix,” the minister said.

Beyond the challenges affecting power generation, Tegbe identified transmission as the biggest constraint facing the electricity sector. “The biggest constraint we have is in the transmission. It’s amazing to know that some of the transmission lines that we have, as age, as 50 years,” he said.

The minister further revealed that a technical audit of the country’s electricity infrastructure had commenced after he assumed office. “When I took on this role, we started to do a technical audit. We are currently doing a technical audit because I don’t want to put money on the wrong things. I’m a systems person,” Tegbe said.

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