Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, held a strategic closed-door meeting with selected electricity distribution companies on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, as the Federal Government advanced plans for 24/7 Energy Zones aimed at providing more reliable electricity to homes, businesses and industries across the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridor.
The meeting focused attention on a part of Nigeria’s electricity challenge that can receive less attention than generation and transmission: the ability of distribution networks to take available power and deliver it efficiently to customers.
Also read: Tegbe commissions 3MW solar plant at UniAbuja
Tegbe said the constraint in the electricity sector extends beyond how much power is generated or transmitted.
According to the minister, the amount of electricity that can actually be absorbed and delivered through the distribution network is also a critical limitation.
The proposed 24/7 Energy Zones are intended to address that gap by concentrating infrastructure and distribution improvements in areas with substantial existing and potential demand.
The government believes the approach could help unlock additional commercial and industrial electricity consumption while improving the revenue and collection performance of distribution companies.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric, Eko Power, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company and Sahara Energy Group.
The proposed corridors are not entirely new to the ministry’s power-sector strategy.
In August, Tegbe identified the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt as three major energy zones where the government wanted to concentrate efforts to stabilise the grid and better match electricity supply with areas of demand.
The Lagos corridor is particularly important because of its concentration of commercial activity and industrial consumers.
The broader Lagos-Sagamu axis has also been identified by the ministry as an area where existing infrastructure and available power could be better connected to demand.
Tegbe has argued that Nigeria needs to make better use of electricity assets that already exist rather than focusing exclusively on building additional generation.
“We’re looking at assets in some corridors where we have stranded power and idle power, and we want to channel them to the corridors that need them,” Tegbe said in August.
That approach is central to the proposed zones. Instead of treating electricity reliability as a single national problem, the government is seeking to strengthen specific high-demand corridors where improved supply could have a direct effect on economic activity.
The strategy also comes as the ministry acknowledges that improvements in generation alone do not automatically translate into better electricity for consumers.
Tegbe said during his first 100 days in office that the government had recorded progress in generation and transmission, including the restoration of the 375-megawatt Alaoji power plant after three years offline.
The ministry also reported that new transformers in Lagos had unlocked additional transmission capacity, while a new transformer at Katampe in Abuja added further capacity.
Yet the minister has been careful not to suggest that the wider electricity problem has been solved.
In September, Tegbe acknowledged that many Nigerians still lacked reliable electricity and said he understood the frustration of consumers who had not experienced the improvements reported in some parts of the country.
“Fixing this sector properly takes time, & I will not promise a quick fix that doesn’t hold,” Tegbe said.
That acknowledgement provides important context for the Energy Zones proposal.
The planned corridors represent an attempt to translate infrastructure improvements into more consistent electricity at the point where consumers actually receive power.
For the distribution companies, the commercial implications are also significant.
More dependable electricity delivered to businesses and industrial users could increase electricity consumption through official distribution channels, potentially strengthening DisCo revenues and collections.
The Federal Government’s position is that stronger distribution infrastructure should therefore serve both consumers and the financial sustainability of the electricity market.
The plan comes against the backdrop of persistent financial pressures across Nigeria’s power sector.
Tegbe said in September that the government had been mobilising funds towards the sector’s longstanding debt burden, while more than 350,000 meters had been deployed during his first 100 days in office.
Metering is particularly relevant to the distribution side of the proposed zones because accurate measurement can help reduce billing disputes and improve visibility over electricity consumption.
Tegbe has made billing accuracy and faster resolution of consumer complaints part of his broader reform priorities.
The government has also said it intends to strengthen market discipline and improve accountability across the electricity value chain.
The Energy Zones proposal, however, faces challenges that extend beyond infrastructure.
Nigeria’s electricity network continues to contend with ageing equipment, vandalism, energy theft, inadequate maintenance and financial pressures across the value chain.
Tegbe recently said some electricity infrastructure in the country was more than 40 years old and described systematic replacement as necessary.
The minister has separately sought the intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over vandalism and energy theft, arguing that both problems impose substantial costs on the electricity sector.
The government has therefore presented the proposed zones as part of a wider sequence of reforms rather than a standalone solution.
The immediate objective is to improve the ability of selected distribution networks to receive and deliver electricity reliably.
Over time, the government wants those improvements to support productive economic activity, including manufacturing, commerce and other energy-intensive businesses.
For consumers in the targeted corridors, the practical measure of success will ultimately be straightforward: how many hours of dependable electricity reach homes and businesses, how predictable that supply becomes, and whether the improvement is sustained.
For companies, the question will be whether more reliable electricity can reduce dependence on expensive private generation and make production planning easier.
The government has not yet provided a detailed public timetable showing when each proposed Energy Zone will achieve continuous 24-hour supply, nor has it said that uninterrupted electricity is already available across the three corridors.
That distinction matters as the Federal Government moves from planning to implementation.
The latest engagement with the DisCos nevertheless signals a more targeted phase of the power reform programme.
Rather than treating generation, transmission and distribution as separate problems, the ministry is attempting to connect them around areas where demand is already substantial.
If the infrastructure investment and coordination with DisCos can match the government’s stated ambition, the three corridors could become important testing grounds for a more reliable electricity model.
For now, the proposed Energy Zones remain a work in progress.
Also read: Tegbe commissions 3MW solar plant at UniAbuja
The closed-door meeting marks another step in the Federal Government’s effort to turn higher available capacity into electricity that Nigerian households, businesses and industries can actually receive and use consistently.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
