The Nigerian Government is projecting about $1bn in annual revenue from electricity exports to 15 West African Countries under the Economic Community of West African States sub-region from June 2026.
The earnings are based on what a full 600 megawatts export capacity is capable of generating at the prevailing regional tariff, as Nigeria pushes toward full participation in the West African power market following a landmark grid synchronisation exercise carried out this month.
The report by Punch newspaper on Friday quoted Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, as saying at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja, that Nigeria had successfully conducted a grid synchronisation test with 15 West African countries for four hours on November 8, 2025.
The minister stated that the development positions Nigeria to fully exploit its strategic role as the regional power hub under the West African Power Pool, especially as generation companies ramp up compliance with free-governor control, an operational discipline crucial to regional grid stability.
On November 8, 2025, Nigeria successfully conducted a grid synchronisation test connecting the national electricity grid with the interconnected West African Power Pool system.
The synchronisation exercise, conducted between 05:04 am and 09:04 am, involved the Nigerian grid, which includes the Niger Republic and parts of Benin and Togo, and the rest of West Africa’s interconnected systems covering Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali.
The minister said for four uninterrupted hours, power flowed seamlessly across national borders, operating at a single stable frequency and proving that West Africa is now technically capable of functioning as a unified power bloc. This exercise represents the first time in history that Nigeria has operated in a unified, stable, and fully harmonised configuration with the rest of the sub-region.
But beyond the latest achievement, the minister said that the government was working toward achieving permanent grid synchronisation by June 2026, with a second 48-hour test run planned once ongoing discussions with regional operators are concluded.
The Executive Director, Market Operations at the Nigerian Independent System Operator, Edmund Eje, stated that Nigeria currently allocates 600MW for its bilateral power trade agreements each day.
According to the data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigeria continues to offer the cheapest electricity tariffs in West Africa.
NERC figures show that the average approved end-user tariff in Nigeria is about $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (approximately N100.27/kWh), representing just 35.71 per cent of the average $0.19/kWh charged by several other countries in the sub-region.
If exported power is billed at this regional tariff, government officials estimate that delivering the full 600MW allocation could generate close to $1bn in annual revenue.
GIK/APA