Transcorp Power chief calls for investment across Nigeria's power chain
- Peter Ikenga of Transcorp Power says every stage of the power sector needs steady investment to improve supply.
- He spoke in Lagos at the Shell Power Conference, where he flagged a tough year for operations.
- Transcorp reported ₦83.1 billion profit before tax for the first nine months of 2026.
The head of Transcorp Power, Peter Ikenga, has said Nigeria will only get steadier electricity if money keeps flowing into every stage of the power business, from generation to the wires that carry it to homes.
Ikenga, the company's managing director and chief executive, made the case in Lagos at the third Shell Power Conference, where he appeared on a panel. The event was themed around turning ambition into lasting impact for Nigeria's power sector.
His message to ordinary Nigerians was simple: reliable power is what keeps schools, hospitals and small businesses running. He said this year has been hard for operators, but that getting electricity to those places is the point of the work.
Transcorp Power, one of two power companies under the Transcorp Group, says it is in the sector for the long haul rather than quick returns. Ikenga described the company as a long-term player and said it will keep investing in its plants and paying returns to shareholders.
What the numbers show
In unaudited results for the nine months to 30 September 2026, Transcorp Power posted profit before tax of ₦83.1 billion. Its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent a year earlier.
Total assets grew 11.7 per cent to ₦629.5 billion, while shareholders' funds climbed 8.9 per cent to ₦199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents stood at ₦10.3 billion, which the company credited to better collections.
Ikenga said Transcorp Power has expanded the available capacity of the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State four times over since buying it in 2013. He also said the company was the first privatised generation firm to be cleared by the government for meeting all its privatisation obligations.
He noted that Transcorp Power can restart its plant without drawing power from the national grid, which helps speed up recovery when the system is disturbed.
The bigger picture
Nigeria has about 13,000 megawatts of installed generating capacity, against an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, according to Ikenga. Closing that gap, he argued, depends on all parts of the value chain working together, with federal and state governments, regulators and private investors pulling in the same direction.
He said generating power at scale is the cheapest route to industrialisation and that the grid remains a proven system worldwide. He also asked stakeholders to help guard power equipment against vandals, warning that what exists today must be protected for the future.
On the sector's prospects, Ikenga was upbeat, saying the future looks strong and that Transcorp Power will keep investing, sustaining generation and delivering value to shareholders and to Nigeria.
