The Federal Government has set an ambitious target of wheeling 6,000 megawatts of electricity through Nigeria's national transmission network before December 2026, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the grid and improve the evacuation of available power to homes
and businesses across the country.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, disclosed this target on Monday, August 17, 2026, during a visit to Lagos, where he commissioned two newly installed 100MVA, 132/33kV power transformers at the Ijora Transmission Substation. The commissioning ceremony brought together stakeholders from the power sector who gathered to witness the unveiling of the upgraded infrastructure.
According to Tegbe, the newly commissioned transformers are expected to significantly increase the capacity and reliability of electricity transmission within Lagos State, translating into improved and more stable power supply for consumers within the state's densely populated commercial and residential areas. Lagos, being Nigeria's commercial hub, places substantial demand on the national grid, making infrastructure upgrades within the state particularly significant for the broader goal of national electricity stability.
Beyond the Lagos-specific upgrade, the minister revealed that the Federal Government is working to commission a total of 20 transmission projects across the country before the end of 2026. These projects, according to Tegbe, are designed to strengthen the national transmission network and address longstanding bottlenecks that have historically prevented electricity generated at power plants from being effectively evacuated and delivered to distribution companies for onward supply to end users.
This challenge of generation-transmission mismatch has been one of the most persistent issues plaguing Nigeria's power sector for years. The country has often recorded installed generation capacity far exceeding what its transmission infrastructure can reliably wheel, meaning that even when power plants are capable of producing more electricity, much of that potential goes untapped due to an inadequate and aging transmission network. This has resulted in a situation where many Nigerians continue to experience epileptic power supply despite the country technically possessing generation capacity that, on paper, should be sufficient to meet a significant portion of national demand.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria, which is responsible for managing the national grid, has in recent years embarked on various expansion and rehabilitation projects aimed at closing this gap. The current administration's push toward a 6,000MW wheeling target represents a continuation of these efforts, with the government now placing renewed emphasis on measurable, time-bound targets rather than broad, open-ended infrastructure promises.
Tegbe explained that the planned interventions form part of the administration's broader strategy to improve Nigeria's electricity infrastructure and maximize the country's available generation capacity, rather than simply focusing on building new power plants without addressing the transmission constraints that limit how much of that generated power can actually reach consumers. This shift in emphasis reflects a growing recognition within the sector that Nigeria's power crisis is not solely a generation problem, but one that spans the entire value chain, from generation through transmission to final distribution.
The minister further noted that achieving the 6,000MW wheeling target would depend on several critical factors, including continued investment in transmission infrastructure, the timely completion of ongoing projects, and improved coordination across the various players within the power sector value chain, including generation companies, the transmission company, and distribution companies.
Nigeria's power sector has undergone significant reforms since the privatization of the generation and distribution segments over a decade ago, with transmission remaining under government control through the Transmission Company of Nigeria. Despite these reforms, the sector has continued to grapple with challenges including inadequate infrastructure, gas supply constraints affecting thermal power plants, vandalism of transmission lines and substations, and significant revenue collection gaps within the distribution segment. These interconnected challenges have made it difficult for successive administrations to deliver consistent improvements in power supply, despite repeated commitments and targets set over the years.
The announcement of the 6,000MW wheeling target and the accompanying 20 transmission projects will likely be viewed by industry watchers and ordinary Nigerians alike with a mixture of cautious optimism and skepticism, given the sector's history of ambitious targets that have not always been fully realized within stated timelines. Nonetheless, the commissioning of the Ijora Transmission Substation upgrade offers a tangible, visible example of progress that residents of Lagos can point to as evidence of infrastructure improvement already underway.
As the December 2026 deadline approaches, stakeholders across Nigeria's power sector, along with millions of electricity consumers nationwide, will be watching closely to see whether the Federal Government can deliver on this latest set of commitments, and whether the promised improvements in transmission capacity will translate into the more reliable and consistent power supply that Nigerians have long been demanding.
Gist source: GistCity News — follow them on YouTube/Instagram/TikTok @gistcitynews
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