Govt eyes N1.49tn electricity export revenue

The Federal Government is projecting nearly $1bn (about N1.49tn) in annual revenue from electricity exports to 15 West African Countries under the Economic Community of West African States sub-region from June 2026.

The earnings are based on what a full 600 megawatts export capacity is capable of generating at the prevailing regional tariff, as Nigeria pushes toward full participation in the West African power market following a landmark grid synchronisation exercise carried out this month.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, hinted at the new revenue stream at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, where he announced that Nigeria successfully conducted a grid synchronisation test with 15 West African countries for four hours on November 8, 2025.

He said the development positions Nigeria to fully exploit its strategic role as the regional power hub under the West African Power Pool, especially as generation companies ramp up compliance with free-governor control, an operational discipline crucial to regional grid stability.

On November 8, 2025, Nigeria successfully conducted a grid synchronisation test connecting the national electricity grid with the interconnected West African Power Pool system.

The synchronisation exercise, conducted between 05:04 am and 09:04 am, involved the Nigerian grid, which includes the Niger Republic and parts of Benin and Togo, and the rest of West Africa’s interconnected systems covering Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali.

The minister said for four uninterrupted hours, power flowed seamlessly across national borders, operating at a single stable frequency and proving that West Africa is now technically capable of functioning as a unified power bloc. This exercise represents the first time in history that Nigeria has operated in a unified, stable, and fully harmonised configuration with the rest of the sub-region.

But beyond the latest achievement, the minister said the government is working toward achieving permanent grid synchronisation by June 2026, with a second 48-hour test run planned once ongoing discussions with regional operators are concluded.

The Executive Director, Market Operations at the Nigerian Independent System Operator, Edmund Eje, said Nigeria currently allocates 600MW for its bilateral power trade agreements each day. According to data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigeria continues to offer the cheapest electricity tariffs in West Africa.

NERC figures show that the average approved end-user tariff in Nigeria is about $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (approximately N100.27/kWh), representing just 35.71 per cent of the average $0.19/kWh charged by several other countries in the sub-region.

If exported power is billed at this regional tariff, government officials estimate that delivering the full 600MW allocation could generate close to $1bn in annual revenue.

A breakdown of the figures shows that exporting 600MW, equivalent to 600,000 kilowatts, at the prevailing tariff of $0.19 per kilowatt-hour would fetch about $114,000 every hour. This translates to roughly $2.73m daily and an estimated $998.6m in annual revenue.

The projection assumes uninterrupted export of the contracted volume once a permanent grid synchronisation is completed at a tentative date of June 2026. Officials say the revenue could provide a critical buffer for the power sector, help reduce liquidity shortfalls, and accelerate expansion of regional energy markets.