The Federal Government has initiated high-level talks with select electricity distribution companies to establish “Energy Zones” capable of providing round-the-clock power supply to high-demand corridors.
The minister’s media aide, Adeola Adelabu, confirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday that the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, held a strategic closed-door meeting with top executives from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric, Eko Power, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, and the Sahara Energy Group.
In the statement, Adelabu quoted Tegbe outlining the core mandate behind the talks: “In furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to deliver reliable electricity to Nigerians, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has held a strategic closed-door meeting with the leadership of select electricity distribution companies over the proposed Energy Zones, designed to deliver stable, 24-hour power supply to homes, businesses and industries in the country’s highest-demand areas, namely Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port-Harcourt.”
The initiative aligns directly with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which positions stable power supply as a fundamental catalyst for job creation, economic expansion, and industrialisation. Tegbe reaffirmed the government’s resolve to scale up electricity infrastructure in high-demand areas, stressing that power generation and transmission capacity must expand alongside the requirements of a growing national economy.
Targeting the Lagos axis, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor, and the Enugu-Port Harcourt belt, the proposed zones seek to resolve lingering distribution bottlenecks and ensure power delivered to the national grid effectively reaches end-users. The scheme aims to bridge the supply deficit in major commercial hubs, stimulate industrial output, and enhance the revenue collection efficiency of distribution firms.
According to the official statement, Tegbe observed that the grid’s struggles extend beyond generation and transmission to the distribution companies’ operational capacity to take up and distribute power.
“The constraint on the sector is not limited to generation and transmission but includes how much power is taken up and delivered at the distribution end,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.
The talks reflect Tegbe’s declared policy to implement a disciplined, phased framework to tackle systemic industry challenges upon taking office. While the proposed Energy Zones are set to target areas where continuous power is essential for commercial and manufacturing operations, the statement omitted details regarding implementation timelines, total capacity targets, or the financial and structural investments required for the project.