The national electricity grid will remain vulnerable to collapse due to the government’s inability to repair a key transmission line in northern Nigeria, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned.
He attributed the delay in repairs to ongoing insecurity in the region.
Speaking during the 2025 budget defense session with the Senate Joint Committee on Power, Adelabu highlighted the critical damage to the Shiroro-Kaduna-Mando transmission line, which has been out of service since October 2024 following a vandalism incident.
This failure has exacerbated the grid’s fragility, leading to frequent collapses.
“The Kaduna-Shiroro-Mando line was one of the two major lines transmitting power to the north. The second, the Ugwuaji-Makurdi line, was also vandalized but has been repaired. The Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna line, however, remains down due to insecurity,” Adelabu explained.
He added, “This is why our grid is so fragile, as it relies on a single line, causing unnecessary strain.”
The minister acknowledged that grid collapses are likely to continue but assured that efforts are being made to minimize their frequency and ensure faster restoration times.
Adelabu also emphasized that collaboration with the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu and security agencies is critical to addressing vandalism, which remains a significant challenge for the power sector.
Adelabu revealed a N2 trillion budget for the Ministry of Power and its agencies, with N229 billion allocated directly to the ministry. A significant portion of this budget, N700 billion, is dedicated to the Power Metering Initiative (PMI), aimed at reducing the metering gap and improving billing transparency to curb fraud.
“Our focus is on reducing the time it takes to restore power. We are actively collaborating with security agencies to achieve this,” the minister said.
In addition, Adelabu disclosed plans to invest N36 billion in distributing transformers across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. To address the insecurity that hampers the repair and maintenance of power infrastructure, he proposed the installation of solar-powered lights and Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras on highways, which will help monitor the movements of vandals and other criminal elements.
This initiative, aimed at enhancing security and protecting critical infrastructure, is included under a N200 billion sub-head in the 2025 budget.
