The Presidency has concluded plans to disconnect the State House from the national electricity grid and fully migrate to an independent solar power system by March 2026, following alleged overbilling by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr. Temitope Fashedemi, disclosed this on Thursday during a budget defence session before the Senate Committee on Special Duties, chaired by Senator Kaka Lawan.
Fashedemi said irregular billing practices were uncovered during the testing phase of the Presidential Villa’s newly installed solar energy project, which was completed in late 2025.
According to him, technical evaluations revealed that AEDC billed the State House for power not actually supplied, prompting moves toward a complete off-grid transition and reconciliation of outstanding liabilities.
He said: “During the testing of the new solar infrastructure, we observed discrepancies in billing across several transformers. Charges were issued for electricity that was not delivered. We are currently engaging AEDC to address these issues and reconcile the legacy liabilities.”
He expressed optimism that the solar switch-over would soon be finalized.
“We are hopeful that by March, we should be able to achieve full cutover to the solar-powered system,” he added.
The Permanent Secretary further revealed that the State House Medical Centre has already been operating almost entirely on solar power since May 2025, with no reliance on generators.
“Since the medical centre installation was completed, the generator there has not run for one minute. Only about three per cent of its power came from AEDC within the period, while the rest has been supplied through solar panels and battery storage,” he said.
Recall that AEDC had, in February 2024, listed the Presidential Villa among top government debtors, with an outstanding electricity bill of N923.87 million. Following reconciliation, the figure was reduced to N342.35 million, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu subsequently directed to be paid.
The latest development signals a major shift in energy sourcing for the nation’s seat of power, with renewable energy now positioned as the primary supply source.
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