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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Nigerian Revenue Service quits unreliable national electricity grid

From The Punch · (8h ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) has obtained approval to generate its own power, joining a growing list of organizations abandoning the national electricity grid.
  • The NRS secured a captive power generation permit for a 6.08-megawatt plant at its Abuja headquarters due to persistent outages.
  • This move highlights the deepening crisis in Nigeria's power sector, where even critical government operations cannot rely on the national grid.

The Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), the very agency responsible for collecting government revenue, has now joined the exodus from the unreliable national electricity grid. This decision, to secure a permit for its own 6.08-megawatt captive power plant, speaks volumes about the dire state of power supply in Nigeria. It's a stark admission that even critical federal operations cannot depend on the national grid, a situation that cripples businesses and government functions alike.

The Nigerian Revenue Service has joined the growing list of major organisations abandoning the troubled national electricity grid, securing approval to generate its own power amid persistent outages that continue to cripple businesses and government operations across the country.

— Article TextIntroducing the NRS's decision to generate its own power.

This development, detailed in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) fourth quarter 2025 report, is not an isolated incident. It's part of a broader trend where both private companies and public institutions are losing faith in the national grid. The report reveals that NERC approved 11 captive power permits in that quarter alone, with a total capacity exceeding 130 MW, including significant allocations to industrial players like Abuja Steel Mill and Yongxing Steel Company.

The move forms part of a broader wave of self-help electricity projects as both private companies and public institutions lose confidence in the national grid.

— Article TextDescribing the trend of organizations seeking alternative power sources.

The irony is palpable: the agency tasked with ensuring the nation's financial health is itself facing operational challenges due to power instability. The reliance on expensive diesel generators inflates production costs for industries and reduces their competitiveness. By opting for self-generation, the NRS is signaling a pragmatic, albeit concerning, response to a persistent national problem. This surge in captive generation, alongside the issuance of 31 mini-grid permits, underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reform and investment in Nigeria's power sector, moving beyond promises to tangible, reliable solutions.

This surge in captive generation underscores the deepening crisis in Nigeria’s power sector, where the national grid remains largely unstable despite repeated promises of improvement.

— Article TextAnalyzing the implications of increased captive power generation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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