Power minister Adebayo Adelabu has hinted that the federal government will consider incentives to get businesses and individuals shun to the national grid to generate electricity.

“Having noticed a drop in demand during the off-peak period, we plan to stimulate demand by having a different tariff during the off-peak period. These are some of the efforts we are looking at, especially with our smart meters,” Mr Adelabu stated.

The power minister stated this on Thursday at a retreat of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company in Lagos.

He lamented that a record 5,155MW generated were not being utilised, stating that businesses are disconnecting from the grid to generate their own electricity.

“The majority of bulk electricity users, such as industries, are off the grid due to a lack of trust and confidence in the past. They now have their own captive power plants in their industries, which is more expensive,” Mr Adelabu explained. “The average cost of producing captive power is about N350 to N400 per kilowatt-hour for those connected to gas lines. For diesel, it’s about N950 while petrol is about N550.”

The politician added, “Once consumers and industries see the trust, the confidence and the stability we are giving, they would be encouraged and reconnect to the grid for a cheaper source of power.

“We aim to attain the threshold of a new era in power delivery with a target of 6 gigawatts by the end of December 2024, in the short term, and the Federal Government is still focused on Vision 30-30-30. 

“By 2030, we aim to achieve 30GW in the medium term, with renewable energy constituting 30 per cent and universal access in the long term. We must align on the principles guiding our activities and the strategies driving our progress.”