DUBAI, 1st September, 2026 (WAM) -- Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, Nigeria's Federal Minister of Power, said his country is discussing proposals with the UAE to strengthen electricity generation capacity by around 5,000 megawatts, noting that solar energy is among the most prominent areas of cooperation between the two countries, alongside financing and the exchange of expertise and technical ideas.
Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of Middle East Energy 2026, Tegbe said Nigeria enjoys broad cooperation with the UAE, including arrangements for Emirati financial support for a number of programmes, as well as proposals and discussions related to increasing generation capacity by around 5,000 megawatts.
He added that solar energy is one of the most important areas of cooperation between the two sides, given the similarities between the two countries and their high levels of solar irradiation, noting that Nigeria exchanges ideas and information with the UAE and benefits from its experience in expanding energy projects.
Tegbe said cooperation between Nigeria and the UAE is not limited to financing, but also includes the exchange of lessons learned, expertise and technical ideas.
On reforms in Nigeria's electricity sector, he said the country is adopting new strategies to ensure the sector's sustainability, including upgrading parts of the power grid that are around 50 years old, replacing infrastructure components and strengthening the network to enhance its stability and resilience.
He added that work also includes rehabilitating some electricity transmission lines to increase their capacity to handle future loads.
Tegbe said Nigeria's installed electricity generation capacity stands at 13,625 megawatts, while around 5,000 megawatts are transmitted through the grid and about 4,000 megawatts are actually delivered.
He said the reforms also aim to address aggregate technical, commercial and collection (ATC&C) losses, including technical losses within the grid, as well as some commercial losses related to tariff differentials.
Tegbe noted that one of Nigeria's key reforms has been the shift from a centralised electricity sector structure reliant on the federal national grid towards a more decentralised model.
He added that legislation enacted over the past two years has transferred greater powers over electricity generation and distribution to subnational levels of government, allowing Nigerian state governments to generate and distribute electricity alongside the federal government's role.
He affirmed that these reforms aim to strengthen Nigeria's electricity system's ability to meet citizens' needs and improve the efficiency and sustainability of the sector.