By Abiola Olawale
Nigeria is negotiating a $2 billion loan from China’s Export-Import Bank to construct a “super grid” to ease the country’s power shortages.
This was made known by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, at the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
The Minister said the loan, when approved, would be used to dismantle the “chronic blackouts that have stifled growth and forced businesses to rely on costly diesel generators.”
Adelabu added that the proposed super grid aims to integrate renewable energy sources, deploy smart monitoring systems, and slash technical losses in the nation’s aging infrastructure.
He also explained that the project is part of government efforts to decentralise power generation and encourage large-scale industrial users who left the national grid due to its unreliability to reconnect.
The new transmission infrastructure will link the eastern and western regions of the country, where most of Nigeria’s industrial consumers are located.
“It’s part of plans to decentralise power generation in Nigeria and get the heavy commercial users that left the power grid because of its unreliability to return,” he said.
The power grid has experienced multiple collapses over the years, often attributed to inadequate generation capacity, transmission constraints, and technical faults.
Adelabu said the proposed super grid would improve transmission efficiency and ensure more power reaches industrial zones.
He added that the Federal Executive Council has already approved financing for the project.
The New Diplomat reports that the development comes as Nigeria has already experienced three national grid collapses in 2025.
The national grid also collapsed several times in 2024, plunging the nation into darkness.
