The national electricity grid remains vulnerable to frequent collapses, primarily due to the government’s inability to repair a critical transmission line in northern Nigeria, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, revealed during the 2025 budget defense session with the Senate Joint Committee on Power.
Adelabu cited the damaged Shiroro-Kaduna-Mando transmission line, which has been out of service since October 2024 following a vandalism incident. The line, a crucial part of the power transmission to the northern region, has left the grid heavily reliant on a single operational line, creating significant strain and increasing the frequency of grid collapses.
“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 vandalized but has been repaired. However, the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna line remains down due to insecurity,” Adelabu explained. He acknowledged that while grid collapses are expected to continue, the government is focusing on reducing their frequency and ensuring faster restoration times.
The minister highlighted the need for greater collaboration with the National Security Adviser (NSA) and security agencies to address the growing issue of vandalism, which remains a significant challenge for the power sector.
Additionally, Adelabu announced a N2 trillion budget for the Ministry of Power and its agencies for 2025, with N229 billion allocated directly to the ministry. Among the key initiatives, N700 billion has been earmarked for the Power Metering Initiative (PMI) to improve metering, reduce fraud, and enhance billing transparency. The minister also outlined plans to invest N36 billion in distributing transformers across the six geopolitical zones.
As part of efforts to improve security and protect critical infrastructure, Adelabu proposed the installation of solar lights and CCTV cameras on highways to monitor the movements of vandals and criminals, included under a N200 billion sub-head in the budget.
