The Nigerian Senate has passed the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, through second reading, aiming to rescue the country’s ailing power sector from imminent collapse.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, seeks to overhaul the 2023 Electricity Act by addressing regulatory gaps and strengthening penalties for offenders.
Senator Abaribe warned that Nigeria’s electricity industry is buckling under inefficiencies and financial mismanagement, with the Federal Government currently indebted to the tune of over ₦4 trillion in the power sector.
The proposed amendment introduces key reforms, including criminalizing electricity infrastructure vandalism, clarifying the transfer of regulatory power from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to state governments, enhancing the operationalization of the Electricity Consumer Assistance Fund, and strengthening penalties and institutional oversight.
Senator Adamu Aliero supported the bill, criticizing the financial burden still being carried by the government despite privatization and recommending capital punishment for saboteurs of national assets. “We’ve privatized power, yet trillions of naira are still being spent on behalf of private companies.
Vandals are sabotaging national assets and should face capital punishment if necessary,” Aliero said.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Power, which is expected to report back within six weeks.
Senator Abaribe emphasized that electricity is an essential service and that no one should hold the country to ransom under the guise of a strike.
He also criticized the refusal of some electricity distribution companies to pay for power supplied, further compounding the sector’s instability.
