By Onu Okorie
Federal Government has begun moves to establish dedicated Energy Zones in Nigeria’s major electricity demand centres as part of efforts to deliver more stable and reliable power to households, businesses and industries.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this after holding a strategic closed-door meeting with the leadership of selected electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to advance the proposed initiative.
The Energy Zones will initially focus on three high-demand corridors: the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt, where the government intends to strengthen electricity infrastructure and ensure supply is better matched with demand.
Tegbe said the power sector’s challenges went beyond electricity generation and transmission, stressing that the capacity of the distribution end to take up and deliver available power remained a major constraint.
According to him, the proposed Energy Zones are designed to address the distribution bottleneck, unlock commercial and industrial demand and improve revenue collection by DisCos.
He said the Federal Government was committed to expanding infrastructure in areas with high electricity demand so that supply could keep pace with the requirements of a growing economy.
The initiative represents a shift towards concentrating infrastructure and distribution capacity in areas where electricity demand is highest, potentially enabling industries and businesses to secure more reliable power for production.
DisCos brought into strategy
The meeting brought together the leadership of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Ikeja Electric, Eko Power, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and Sahara Energy Group.
Their participation underscores the importance of distribution companies in the proposed model, particularly in ensuring that additional generation and transmission capacity can be absorbed and delivered effectively to end users.
Tegbe’s engagement with the DisCos also reflects his stated commitment to adopting a disciplined and sequenced approach to addressing the structural challenges confronting Nigeria’s electricity sector.
The government sees reliable electricity supply as critical to industrialisation, economic expansion and job creation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The proposed Energy Zones are therefore expected to bring together investment in electricity infrastructure and stronger distribution capacity around major centres of economic activity. By focusing initially on the Lagos, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors, the Federal Government is seeking to tackle electricity constraints in areas with significant residential, commercial and industrial demand while creating stronger markets for additional power generation.