Assuring that local electricity needs would be fulfilled, the Federal Government announced yesterday in Abuja that Nigeria is poised to export electricity to 14 African nations, marking a significant milestone following a successful synchronization with the West African Power Pool, a notable historical achievement.
This announcement coincides with details revealed by officials, stating that approximately 60 percent of power generation entities have adhered to a mandatory Free Governor Control Order ahead of the looming November 30 deadline established by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Possessing an export capacity of around 600 megawatts, with merely 350MW currently allocated to Benin Republic, Togo, and Niger, Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu; Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Managing Director Sule Abdulaziz; Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) head Abdu Bello; and Market Operator (MO) leader Dr. Edmund Eje collectively underscored the continued low energy demand within Nigeria.
The stakeholders emphasized that the synchronization with the West African Power Pool, a specialized agency under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) encompassing 14 of the 15 member nations of the regional economic alliance, will enable Nigeria to garner foreign exchange (FX), expedite investments, stabilize the grid, and unleash industrial growth in light of a comprehensive integration of all African countries.
As per the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s data, Nigeria’s border electricity exchanges, recorded up to the second quarter of 2025, resulted in the Market Operator issuing invoices totaling $17.54 million to international bilateral clients, out of which $9.01 million has been collected, indicative of an overall payment compliance rate of 51.33 percent.
Nigerian business magnate Tony Elumelu, through his company Transcorp Ughelli, supplies Benin’s La Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE), while Mainstream Energy caters to Niger’s Nigerian Electricity Company (NIGELEC), and Niger Delta Power Holding Company alongside Paras services the Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET).
While manufacturers are increasingly gravitating towards alternative energy sources, notably off-grid gas plants, and households are opting for renewable innovations, Adelabu articulated that energy remains a pivotal challenge for the nation.
In related news, a querying of the minister by the APC over insubordination has sparked a fresh crisis in Kano, while a group has called for an investigation into the blackout issues in Imo. The Federal Government has also commended Schneider Electric for its contributions to advancing sustainability within Nigeria’s power sector.
Describing this synchronised initiative as a landmark accomplishment indicative of significant enhancements in system strength, stability, and regional collaboration, Adelabu elaborated that the four-hour synchronization evaluation was the most successful in nearly twenty years.
The previous significant attempt in 2007 faltered within merely seven minutes, whereas this year’s test proceeded flawlessly, he noted, highlighting that the system even adeptly handled an unexpected generator trip in Côte d’Ivoire, which was swiftly stabilized by Nigerian generators.
According to Adelabu, this performance exhibits a considerably more resilient national grid, fortified by persistent investments in transmission expansion.
Currently, Nigeria’s transmission wheeling capacity is affirmed to stand at 8,500 MW, buttressed by ongoing developments and commissioning of substations, transmission lines, and transformer upgrades nationwide.
Numerous new transformers under the auspices of World Bank and Service Level Agreement initiatives are still pending full commissioning, while supplementary substations are approaching completion, he remarked.
He highlighted that these investments, along with projects under the Presidential Power Initiative (Siemens), continually reinforce the grid.
TCN Managing Director Abdulaziz, while asserting that power exports will not disrupt the local market, clarified that synchronization does not inherently enhance grid capacity; rather, it attests to the grid’s heightened resilience and readiness for extensive regional integration.
