The Presidential Villa in Abuja will stop using electricity from the national grid by March 2026.
The Federal Government has completed plans to switch the Villa to an independent solar power system.
The Permanent Secretary of the State House, Temitope Fashedemi, announced this on Wednesday while presenting the State House’s 2026 budget proposal to the Senate Committee on Special Duties at the National Assembly.
He explained that the solar power installation at the Villa was completed toward the end of 2025. Since December, the system has been undergoing technical testing.
Fashedemi said the government hopes to fully disconnect from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) by March. This move, he noted, will reduce the cost of running the Presidential Villa.
He pointed to the State House Medical Centre as proof that the solar project is working.
According to him, since the medical centre installed its solar system in May 2025, it has not used its generator at all. Only about three percent of its electricity needs were briefly supplied by AEDC during the early stage of the transition.
The rest has been powered by solar panels and battery storage.
The Federal Government had set aside N10 billion in the 2025 budget for the Villa’s solar mini-grid project. An additional N7 billion has been proposed in the 2026 budget to complete and strengthen the project.
Before switching to solar power, the State House owed large electricity bills. In February 2024, AEDC listed the Villa as one of its biggest government debtors, with an outstanding bill of N923.87 million.
After review, the debt was reduced to N342.35 million, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered to be paid immediately.
Fashedemi also revealed that testing of the new system uncovered cases of overbilling by AEDC, including charges for electricity that was not supplied. He said discussions are ongoing to resolve these past issues.
He added that once the solar system becomes fully operational, there will be no need to replace the old generators installed when the Villa was first built. However, a few generators may still be kept for emergency use.
He expressed confidence that the solar system will provide enough power for the entire complex.
