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The federal government is planning to establish dedicated energy zones capable of providing 24-hour electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries in major high-demand areas across the country.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this during a closed-door meeting, yesterday with the management of selected electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to discuss the proposed energy zones.
The zones will initially cover the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and Enugu-Port Harcourt axis.
Tegbe said the electricity supply challenge in Nigeria was not limited to generation and transmission, but also involved the capacity of the distribution end to take up and deliver available power.
According to him, the proposed energy zones are intended to address the distribution bottleneck, unlock commercial and industrial demand, and improve revenue and collection performance of DisCos. He said the federal government was committed to developing infrastructure in areas with high electricity demand to ensure that supply keeps pace with the needs of the growing economy.
The minister said the initiative was part of efforts to bring greater discipline and sequencing to the government’s approach to addressing challenges in the power sector. He added that reliable electricity remained central to the Federal Government’s economic development agenda, particularly in driving industrialisation, expanding businesses and creating jobs.
The meeting was attended by the leadership of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Ikeja Electric, Eko Power, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and Sahara Energy Group.
The proposed energy zones are expected to focus investment and infrastructure development on areas with high electricity demand, while improving the ability of distribution companies to deliver power to consumers and collect revenue.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen coordination among government agencies, DisCos and other players in the electricity value chain as the federal government seeks to improve the reliability of power supply.
