Nigeria: Renewables

This piece is angled from the position that platforms for cooperation & collaboration already exist for resilience sustainability in facing climate challenges for Africa. The mission is therefore to highlight some hidden pillars that need three “As”- Activation, Advocacy and Action.

This digest examines major energy and natural resources developments across Ghana and Nigeria, covering upstream exploration, gas infrastructure expansion, refinery capacity growth, and mining sector activity. The analysis tracks investment flows, infrastructure projects, and policy initiatives shaping energy security and industrial development in both West African markets.

Nigeria's power sector advances with new Net Billing Regulations 2026 enabling distributed renewable energy integration, while NERC mandates special compensation for Band A customers affected by grid generation constraints. These developments strengthen regulatory oversight, enhance consumer protection, and facilitate the structured expansion of distributed energy resources within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Nigeria’s electricity sector has remained the subject of persistent debate, reform efforts, and unfulfilled promises. Successive administrations since the 1990s have pledged comprehensive transformation of the industry. While some achieved limited structural reforms, many produced little beyond policy papers and committees. The consequence has been a power sector that continues to underperform, with Nigeria generating less electricity per capita than several of its African counterparts.

Nigeria's power sector faces critical gas supply challenges despite vast reserves, with Generation Companies struggling under mounting debts, uncompetitive pricing, and persistent infrastructure issues.

This update provides an overview of some recent regulatory and market developments in Nigeria’s power sector, including the decentralisation of regulatory oversight to state regulators, emerging and proposed frameworks for distributed generation and interconnected mini-grids, developments under the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (“NBET”) bond programme, and ongoing metering interventions.

The Nigerian Electricity Act 2023 (EA 2023) made mini-grids one of the cornerstones of Nigeria's power sector reform. It, through the licensing mechanism, moved mini-grids from being a niche "rural electrification" tool into a full commercial electricity sub-sector.

The fourth quarter of 2025 marked a defining period for Nigeria's energy sector, shaped by upstream portfolio realignments, deeper implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and tangible progress...

Renewable energy is derived from natural environmental sources, which are replenished at a rate equal to or faster than at which they are absorbed.