Tuesday, June 2, 2026 - Nigeria’s electricity sector has received at least $3.653bn in World Bank-backed funding over the past 24 years, yet millions of households and businesses across the country continue to grapple with unstable power supply, frequent grid collapses, and heavy reliance on generators.
An analysis of World Bank-supported power projects between
2001 and 2024 showed that successive interventions targeted transmission
upgrades, sector reforms, rural electrification, renewable energy expansion,
and recovery programmes aimed at stabilising the country’s troubled electricity
industry.
According to data from the World Bank, as reported by
Statisense, the projects include the $100m Transmission Development Project
introduced in 2001, the $172m National Energy Development Project in 2005, and
the $400m Nigeria Electricity and Gas Improvement Project launched in 2009.
Others are the $145m Nigeria Power Sector Guarantees Project
in 2014, the $486m Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project in 2018, the $350m
Nigeria Electrification Project also in 2018, the $750m Power Sector Recovery
Programme approved in 2020, the $750m Distributed Access through Renewable
Energy Scale-up programme introduced in 2023, and the $500m Sustainable Power
and Irrigation for Nigeria project launched in 2024.
The cumulative funding from the projects totals about
$3.653bn, excluding regional interconnector and hydro rehabilitation projects
for which no exact figures were stated. Despite the multi-billion-dollar
interventions, Nigeria’s electricity supply has remained inadequate for its
growing population and industrial demand.
The national grid has continued to suffer repeated collapses,
while power generation has largely hovered below expectations for Africa’s most
populous country. Many households and businesses still depend heavily on petrol
and diesel generators due to unreliable supply from distribution companies.
Industry experts have repeatedly blamed the crisis on weak
transmission infrastructure, liquidity shortfalls in the power market, gas
supply constraints, vandalism, inadequate investment, and policy
inconsistencies.
The interventions over the years also reflect a shift in the
World Bank’s strategy from conventional transmission and gas-focused projects
towards renewable energy and decentralised electricity access.
Recent programmes such as the Distributed Access through
Renewable Energy Scale-up initiative and the Sustainable Power and Irrigation
for Nigeria project are designed to expand solar-powered electricity access,
particularly in underserved and rural communities.
The World Bank had stated that the programmes were aimed at
improving electricity access, strengthening the transmission network, and
supporting reforms capable of attracting private investment into the sector.
However, concerns persist over the pace of implementation and
the overall impact of the interventions on electricity consumers. Businesses
across Nigeria continue to cite high energy costs as a major operational
challenge, with manufacturers spending huge sums on self-generation amid poor
grid supply.
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