The Federal Government has set a target to increase Nigeria’s electricity supply from the current 5,500 megawatts to 8,500 megawatts within the next 12 to 18 months as part of efforts to stabilise and expand the nation’s power infrastructure. The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, gave the charge on Wednesday in Abuja during a Senior Leadership Team Retreat for top management of the newly established Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
Gbeleyi urged NISO to take the lead in enhancing grid management, system reliability, and operational efficiency to deliver on the target.
“The national broadcast of electricity today indicates generation revolves around 5,500MW. I sincerely hope that within the next 12 months, based on improved transmission grid efficiency, we will see generation capacity rise to around 7,500 to 8,500MW,” Gbeleyi said. “That’s the charge, and NISO is expected to play a strategic role in achieving this.”
He noted that the growth of the power sector depends heavily on a stable transmission backbone and a well-managed national grid, adding that enhanced coordination and investment in system operations are critical to meeting consumer demand and supporting industrial development.
Currently, Nigeria’s electricity supply industry records a daily wheeling capacity of 5,500MW, while the country’s installed generation capacity stands at over 14,000MW. Gbeleyi maintained that the 8,500MW target is achievable, projecting that the industry can scale up capacity by at least 50 per cent in the near term.
“It is not a tall order for us to believe that in the next 12 to 18 months, we can scale up capacity by a minimum of 50 per cent,” he added.
NISO Managing Director, Abdu Mohammed, affirmed the feasibility of the 8,500MW target, citing coordination efforts and plans to attract private sector investments as key enablers.
He noted that NISO expects to deliver a modern, stable, and reliable grid, disclosing that the government has awarded new contracts for the nationwide Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, with ongoing installations across northern and other regions. According to him, the SCADA system is expected to be fully operational by the end of next year.
In his remarks, NISO Board Chairman, Dr Adesesan Akin-Olugbade, described the retreat as marking not only a new administrative era for NISO but also a pivotal step in Nigeria’s journey towards a resilient, transparent, and efficient electricity market.
The two-day retreat was themed “Strategic Leadership for Grid Stability and Market Transformation in a Decentralised, Multi-Level NESI.”
