In a bid to rescue Nigeria’s struggling power sector, the Senate has passed the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 through second reading, setting the stage for critical reforms aimed at plugging regulatory loopholes and tightening oversight in the energy industry.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), proposes sweeping changes to the existing 2023 Electricity Act, which lawmakers argue has failed to effectively stabilise the sector. Abaribe, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Power, led the debate on Tuesday, describing the state of the industry as one teetering on the brink of collapse.
According to him, the sector is being crippled by inefficiencies, lax enforcement, and poor financial management. He revealed that the Federal Government currently owes over ₦4 trillion in obligations tied to the power sector, despite previous privatisation efforts.
“Electricity is an essential service. No one should hold the country to ransom under the guise of a strike. We must remove ambiguities and make the law implementable,” Abaribe stated, noting that the existing Act imposes only minimal penalties for violations and lacks clarity on key regulatory issues.
He also took aim at electricity distribution companies (DisCos), accusing several of them of defaulting on payments for electricity supplied worsening the sector’s instability.
Backing the amendment, Senator Adamu Aliero expressed alarm over the continued federal expenditure on a sector that has been mostly privatised. He called for tougher penalties, including capital punishment for those who vandalise electricity infrastructure, describing such acts as deliberate sabotage of national assets.
“We’ve privatised power, yet trillions of naira are still being spent on behalf of private companies. Vandals are sabotaging our national infrastructure they must be dealt with severely, even if it means capital punishment,” Aliero said.
Key Provisions of the Proposed Amendment:
- Criminalisation of electricity infrastructure vandalism;
- Clarification on regulatory powers between the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and state governments;
- Stronger implementation of the Electricity Consumer Assistance Fund;
- Expanded institutional oversight and stricter penalties for offenders.
The amendment also responds to constitutional reforms that now allow state governments to regulate electricity within their jurisdictions, aiming to give clearer direction on how these powers should be exercised.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Power, which is expected to present its findings and recommendations within six weeks.
