*Adebayo Adelabu, Minister for Power, at the 2025 Budget defence session with Senate Joint Committee on Power, highlights how the Nigerian Government is focused on reducing the frequency of national grid collapses and ensuring quick restoration times for electricity supply to consumers

Alexander Davis | 绿帽献妻

The Federal Government has said frequent cases of vandalism of critical power infrastructure has continued to exert immense pressure on the national, leading to frequent collapses.

绿帽献妻 reports Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Honourable Minister for Power, stated this at the 2025 Budget defence session with the Nigerian Senate Joint Committee on Power, in Abuja, FCT.

Adelabu averred that the national electricity grid would remain prone to collapses due to the Federal Government’s inability to repair a crucial damaged transmission line in Northern Nigeria due to persistent insecurity of lives and property in the axis.

The Minister also mentioned the impact of the damaged Shiroro-Kaduna-Mando line, which has been out of service since a vandalism incident October 2024.

He noted this failure has placed immense pressure on the national the grid, leading to frequent collapses and disruptions in the power value chain in Nigeria.

Adelabu explained to the Federal legislators: “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 vandalided but has been repaired.

“The Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna line, however, remains down due to insecurity.

鈥淭his is why our grid is so fragile, as it relies on a single line, causing unnecessary strain.鈥�

Government focused on reducing incidents, ensuring quick grid restoration, says Adelabu

Minister Adelabu noted while grid collapses are expected to continue on the power system, the Nigerian Government is focused on reducing their frequency and ensuring quick restoration times.

He further assured Nigerians that the government would work on quicker restoration when the power grid collapses.

Adelabu as well underlined his Ministry’s collaboration, especially with the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, is critical to addressing vandalism.

According to him, this malaise remains one of the most significant challenges facing the power sector.

Analysis of Power Ministry鈥檚 budget

The Minister, at the budget defence, also announced a N2 trillion budget for the Ministry and its agencies, out of which N229 billion belongs to the ministry.

Adelabu disclosed the N700 billion fund allocated to the Power Metering Initiative (PMI) is aimed at significantly reducing the metering gap by February 2025, to particularly enhance billing transparency and reduce fraud in the system.

He stated: “We recognise the issues with full or partial grid collapses, but our focus is on reducing the time it takes to restore power.

“We are actively collaborating with security agencies to achieve this.”

The Power Ministry plans to invest N36 billion in the distribution of transformers across the six geopolitical zones, saud he.

Strategies to protect power infrastructure

As part of efforts at addressing insecurity, Adelabu also proposed the installation of solar lights and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras along highways across Nigeria.

The proposal is said to have been included in a N200 billion sub-head in the 2025 Budget of the Federal Ministry of Power.

The Minister explained the solar lights and CCTV cameras are aimed at monitoring the movements of vandals and other criminal elements, enhancing security and protecting critical infrastructure in the country.

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