Nigeria is currently negotiating a $2 billion loan with China’s Export-Import Bank to fund a new “super grid” aimed at addressing the country’s persistent power shortages.
According to Bloomberg, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu disclosed this on Monday during an economic summit in Abuja.
Adelabu explained that the initiative is part of the government’s broader strategy to decentralise power generation and attract back large-scale industrial users who disconnected from the national grid due to its unreliability.
The new transmission network will connect Nigeria’s eastern and western regions — home to many of the nation’s major industrial consumers.
“It’s part of plans to decentralise power generation in Nigeria and get the heavy commercial users that left the power grid because of its unreliability to return,” he said.
The national power grid has suffered several collapses over the years, largely due to limited generation capacity, transmission challenges, and technical faults.
Adelabu stated that the proposed super grid would significantly enhance transmission efficiency and deliver more stable power to industrial areas.
He noted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has already approved the project’s financing framework.
The minister further revealed that recent electricity tariff adjustments for urban customers have improved sector revenue by 70% in 2024, with projections indicating an additional 41% increase to reach N2.4 trillion ($1.6 billion) by the end of the year.