Nigeria Projects $1 Billion in Annual Revenue from Electricity Exports to West Africa
The Federal Government of Nigeria anticipates generating nearly $1 billion in annual revenue from exporting electricity to 15 West African countries. This projection is based on the country’s potential to export 600 megawatts of power at the prevailing regional tariff. The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, announced this development after a successful grid synchronisation test with the West African Power Pool (WAPP) system.
The test, conducted on November 8, 2025, connected Nigeria’s national electricity grid with the interconnected WAPP system, enabling seamless power flow across national borders for four uninterrupted hours. This achievement positions Nigeria as a strategic regional power hub, ready to exploit its generation capacity and transmission infrastructure to supply electricity to neighboring countries.
According to Adelabu, the government aims to achieve permanent grid synchronisation by June 2026, with a second 48-hour test run planned. The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) currently allocates 600MW for bilateral power trade agreements daily. With an average approved end-user tariff of $0.07 per kilowatt-hour, Nigeria offers the cheapest electricity tariffs in West Africa.
If exported power is billed at the regional tariff of $0.19 per kilowatt-hour, officials estimate that delivering the full 600MW allocation could generate close to $1 billion in annual revenue. This projection assumes uninterrupted export of the contracted volume once permanent grid synchronisation is completed.
The government has assured electricity consumers that exporting power to West African countries will not compromise supply to the domestic market. The Minister of Power noted that the benefits of synchronisation with other WAPP countries would extend directly to the Nigerian people, improving the performance of essential services such as hospitals, water supply, and transportation systems.
Nigeria’s transmission wheeling capacity has risen to 8,500 megawatts, creating a stable backbone for future export commitments. However, despite this available capacity, low demand from electricity distribution companies has kept actual generation at around 5,000MW, leaving about 3,500MW stranded within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
The successful grid synchronisation represents a significant milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to become a major player in the West African power market. With 60% of the country’s power-generating plants adopting the operating regime of free governor control, Nigeria is now better equipped to respond to changes in grid frequency, reducing grid instability and strengthening investor confidence in the country’s electricity market.