FG seeks tough measures to tackle vandalism of energy assets 

He emphasised the need for enhanced legal measures for robust laws to deter the destruction of vital energy assets and ensure the stability of the nation’s electricity supply.

Adelabu made the call at the weekend in Abuja while speaking at a two-day retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Power.

 According to the minister, vandalism should not be treated as a civil offence but a criminal issue adding that power theft, nonpayment of bills by consumers, illegal connections are critical factors that need to be tackled.

Adelabu acknowledged that in spite of the challenges, the grid has been stabilised as the country has not witnessed any grid collapse since the beginning of the year.

”The level of stability on our grid today is not by accident but hard work and expenditure. In 2024, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) installed 61 new transformers by either replacing aged ones or building new ones. Also, in 2025, within the first four months, TCN installed about 13 new transformers and these are high-capacity transformers ranging from 10 megawatts to 300 megawatts. Put together, they run into hundreds of millions of dollars to install and these are what our people still go out to vandalise.

“Our towers are toppled by saboteurs and vandals. We have illegal connections, and people tampering with meters” the minister noted.

He urged appropriate legislation and public vigilance to protect national assets that belong to every Nigerian.

“We need more stringent legislation to tackle this problem”, he said, while making a case for TCN.

Adelabu added that the agency (TCN) does not have enough money to fund its operations.

“They are short of funds; they operate solely on their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which has been nosediving over the years . What they get monthly cannot even pay their salary not to talk of maintaining ageing infrastructure or expanding transmission networks. There should be a way to accommodate TCN in appropriation”, he requested.

In a statement, Adelabu spoke on the persistent crisis threatening to derail progress In the sector which is chronic underinvestment in distribution infrastructure, which continues to cripple service delivery nationwide in spite of landmark reforms in the electricity sector.

The minister revealed glaring disparities in distribution companies (DisCos) performance, with ageing networks, rampant electricity theft, and poor investment deepening reliance on unsustainable subsidies and leaving millions in darkness.

“ We need to get tough with the DisCos, as they can easily frustrate all the gains we have made. They have disappointed us in performance expectations. Whatever we do in generation does not mean anything to consumers if it is frustrated at the distribution points”he said, pointing out that in 2003 restructuring of the sector, the DisCos were supposed to have technical partners, but a lot of them showed partnership with foreign companies for that purpose which lasted for about three months. Immediately they took over, those companies left. So, we need utility companies that can invest in the sector to improve infrastructure, improve service.

“A lot of them went to the banks to take loans to buy the assets. After taking over, instead of providing infrastructure they are taking out the money to pay the loans”he regretted

According to the minister, despite tariff adjustments that boosted market liquidity by 70 per cent—raising sector revenue from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024—the distribution segment remains the weakest link.

“In the fourth quarter of 2024, DisCos in the north remitted just ₦124.4 billion (30 per cent) of their ₦408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo accounting for 85 per cent of northern payments. Southern DisCos fared slightly better, remitting ₦254.6 billion (67 per cent), though 70 per cent of this came from Lagos DisCos alone. These discrepancies are due largely to crumbling infrastructure outside economic hubs, where underinvestment has left networks dilapidated” he explained.

Adelabu noted that the metering gap, a key driver of revenue loss and consumer distrust, underscores systemic neglect adding that the government has launched a ₦700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and a World Bank-backed programme targetting 4.3 million meters by 2025. Seventy-five thousand (75,000) units were deployed in April 2024 while additional 200, 000 is expected in May.

“Closing this gap is fundamental to fair billing and financial sustainability,” the minister acknowledged. “But we are not there yet due to underinvestment and operational inefficiencies” he said

“The sector also faces a ₦4 trillion subsidy backlog owed to generation companies, including ₦1.94 trillion for 2024 alone. With monthly subsidy shortfalls now hitting ₦200 billion, the minister warned that maintaining current tariffs is “unsustainable,” straining public funds needed for infrastructure upgrades.

“To salvage the sector, we will soon embark on restructuring underperforming DisCos and tightening enforcement of performance benchmarks. However, without urgent capital injection into distribution networks, gains in generation—including a historic 6,003MW output in March 2025—and transmission upgrades, such as 61 new transformers deployed in 2024, will fail to translate to reliable household supply” Adelabu maintained

The minister highlighted plans to attract private investment into grid infrastructure and regionalise transmission networks to reduce failure risks noting that the 70 per cent remittance by the two DisCos in Lagos reflects better infrastructure than what obtains in the northern networks.

The minister also spoke of plans to boost power supply in the northern part of the country.

“ We are looking at developing Makurdi hydropower project which is about 1000 megawatts. We also want to revitalise Kaduna thermal plant which has been abandoned for the past five years. It is a 215 megawatts capacity plant and is presently at about 87 per cent completion. Efforts are on presently to restore this power plant” he assured

Adelabu said that the state government has expressed interest in taking over the Katsina windfarm with an installed capacity of 10 megawatts.

“The state government has expressed desire to take this up with some private investors and we have commissioned a feasibility study to concession the farm which had been abandoned for a while” the power minister, further stated. ENDS