The Federal Government is expected to spend N358.32 billion on electricity subsidies in the first quarter of 2026, despite continued blackouts and operational difficulties across Nigeria’s power sector.
The subsidy bill averaged more than N119 billion per month as the government maintained its freeze on end-user electricity tariffs.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in its First Quarter 2026 Report, the subsidy resulted from the Federal Government’s decision to keep electricity tariffs at the July 2024 rate rather than adopt cost-reflective pricing.
The report showed that the tariff shortfall reached N126.48 billion in January, N116.34 billion in February and N115.50 billion in March, bringing the total electricity subsidy for the quarter to N358.32 billion.
NERC noted that although the subsidy burden fell by N60.46 billion, or 14.44 percent, from the N418.79 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, the Federal Government will still shoulder more than half of the electricity generation costs.
