Nigeria Plans Dedicated Transmission Lines to Industrial Hubs

Nigeria's Federal Government is planning dedicated transmission lines to route available generation directly to the country's major manufacturing hubs, with a proposed connection between Alaoji and the Agbara industrial area in Ogun State at the centre of the scheme.

Minister of Power Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe disclosed the plan on Monday at the Manufacturers Energy Security and Energy Efficiency Summit in Lagos. For plant operators, the commitment matters because it targets the single biggest line item many of them carry: the cost of generating their own electricity.

"We are looking at dedicated transmission infrastructure that will connect available power generation to major manufacturing hubs, including the proposed connection between Alaoji and the Agbara industrial area," Tegbe said.

What changes for manufacturers?

The core problem is arithmetic, not ideology. Nigerian manufacturers lean heavily on diesel, gas and other independent power sources to keep lines running, and that self-generation drives up production costs across every sector that draws on the grid. The minister framed the transmission build-out as the fix.

"Improving the connection between available generation and industrial demand is critical to ensuring that manufacturers have access to more reliable electricity and reducing the cost of production," Tegbe said.

That translates, for a factory running partly on diesel backup today, into fewer hours on expensive alternative fuel and a lower cost base per unit of output — assuming the dedicated lines actually get built and fed with dispatchable generation.

How does the government intend to deliver?

Tegbe laid out a four-pronged strategy for the power sector:

• Improving liquidity and sustainability across the sector
• Optimising existing generation and transmission assets
• Developing energy zones
• Expanding critical infrastructure

"Our approach is focused on improving sector liquidity and sustainability, optimising existing generation and transmission assets, developing energy zones and expanding critical infrastructure," he said.

Note the sequencing. Liquidity comes first, which signals the government sees payment discipline and financial viability in the power value chain as prerequisites before new capacity delivers value — a read that will not be lost on industrial energy buyers who have watched infrastructure announcements stall on unpaid sector debts before.

Industry launches its own programme

The summit also produced a concrete industry-side move. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) launched the Industrial Energy Cost Reduction and Clean Energy Adoption Programme, or IECRECAP, designed to help businesses access more affordable and sustainable energy.

The programme runs through the Manufacturers Power Development Company Limited, in collaboration with the Nigerian Energy Support Programme — implemented by GIZ — the Federal Ministry of Power and other partners. For practitioners, IECRECAP is the vehicle to watch for pooled procurement, technical support and financing access on the demand side, while the transmission plan works on the supply side.

MAN President Dr Ifeanyi Okoye did not mince words about the starting conditions. "High energy costs and unreliable grid electricity have continued to undermine industrial productivity and the competitiveness of Nigerian manufacturers," he said.

He called for sustainable financing models tailored to industrial energy projects, advocating investment in rooftop solar, battery storage, captive gas generation and smart energy management.

"We need practical energy solutions and sustainable financing arrangements that will enable manufacturers to access reliable and affordable electricity without placing additional financial pressure on their businesses," Okoye said. He added that affordable energy underpins local manufacturing capacity and the ability of Nigerian products to compete in regional and international markets.

What happens next?

The Alaoji–Agbara connection remains a proposal, not built capacity. What decides the story from here is whether the dedicated transmission plan moves from Monday's podium into a funded, scheduled project — and whether IECRECAP's first financing deals reach manufacturers before the next diesel price shock does.