Nigeria requires an estimated $228 billion in electricity investments between now and 2045, to stabilise the grid and meet energy demands.

This represents an estimated $12 billion in annual electricity investments through 2045, a period of 19 years.

Speaking at Asharami Square 3.0 in Lagos, the Special Adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure, Sadiq Wanka, said that Nigeria potentially needed $12 billion in electricity investments annually through 2045 to fix power sector

The amount, he said could be compared with the roughly $1 billion currently invested in the sector each year.

“Nigeria, potentially, needs $12 billion in electricity investments annually through 2045, versus $1 billion being spent currently,” Wanka said.

According to him, closing the gap in electricity investment will require concerted efforts across policy and regulations, as well as a disciplined approach to investment attraction.

Breaking down the required funding across the sector, Wanka noted that significant capital must be injected into generation, transmission, and distribution to build a reliable national grid.

He said about $6.1 billion is required in the generation sub-sector; while around $2 billion is required in the transmission network, and about $2 billion – $4 billion to stabilise the distribution sub-sector between 2025 and 2045.

Irrespective of the funding gap, he explained to stakeholders that recent legislative reforms and state-level participation are already positioning the power sector for strong, decentralised growth.

According to him, increased liberalization ushered in by the Electricity Act 2023 hasstrengthened state participation, sector governance and introduced new licencee categories, he added that the regulatory oversight of electricity regulation transitioned to subnational regulators in 16 states.

Wanka also cited progress such as a $200 million PPP announced by the Imo State government for provision of electricity to all LGAs and another N50 billion equity investment by franchise State Governments in KEDCO for embedded energy, network improvements.

The special adviser said that crucial fiscal changes have begun reducing the financial burden on the central government, with sector policies actively transitioning toward cost-reflective tariffs.

He noted that “Band A” customers have already transitioned, successfully “reducing subsidies by N1 trillion annually.”

He said the elimination of subsidies on white petroleum products has improved economics for alternative power sources relative to self-generation (now 1,700 MW of solar panels imported into Nigeria annually, adding that recent reforms in oil and gas have resulted in $10 billion in FID on important gas development projects.

To maintain the momentum, Wanka outlined several strategic government interventions underway to guarantee regular electricity supply.

He highlighted the ongoing Light Up Nigeria pilot in Agbara aimed at strengthening power supply to industrial customers, alongside provisions in the Electricity Act that now allow independent transmission network operators and private sector participation in transmission financing and operations.

He added that a Transmission Infrastructure Fund was instituted in Q3 2025 with an operationalisation target date of Q4 2026.

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Power is collaborating with the Ministry of Water Resources to launch a fresh concession process for viable hydropower assets, while the World Bank-backed Sustainable Power and Irrigation Programme is actively developing a hydropower masterplan to support financing for medium to large hydropower projects across the country.

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He said there was a need to strengthen the investment facilitation engine to mobilize financing towards grid investments, and accelerate progress in the sector to turbocharge programmatic investments.

He called for the launching of a power project development fund on financing, closing the electrification gap – which is estimated at $23 billion by 2030, citing an example of nominating a nodal financial institution for the power sector and establishing the Power Consumer Assistance Fund.

He called on investors to develop the ecosystem to drive the development of investment opportunities, crowding in global pools of capital.

The special adviser also enjoined development partners to support reforms and investment attraction and lead advocacy for a cohesive, Nigeria-led power sector plan.