Nigeria is facing a severe electricity generation crisis despite having the capacity to produce substantial power, with official data revealing that the country's power plants are operating at less than half their installed capacity.
Massive Disparity Between Capacity and Actual Generation
Recent data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has exposed a troubling reality in the nation's power sector. The country's 28 electricity power plants connected to the national grid possess a combined installed capacity of 13,625 megawatts, yet they only manage to produce an average of 5,395.72MW per hour.
This represents a utilization rate of just about 40% of the available capacity, leaving approximately 8,000MW of potential power generation idle. The situation becomes even more concerning when considering that Nigeria's total generating capacity exceeds 30,000MW, though only 3,781.94MW actually reaches consumers across the nation of over 200 million people.
Power Plants Operating Far Below Capacity
An examination of individual power plant performance reveals widespread underutilization across the country's electricity generation infrastructure. The data shows that most facilities are operating significantly below their installed capacities.
Egbin Power Plant, Nigeria's largest with 1,320MW capacity, delivered an average of 607.83MW in the first quarter of 2025 and slightly improved to 709.26MW in the second quarter. Similarly, the Delta Power Station with 900MW capacity generated 489.80MW in Q1 but declined to 440.83MW in Q2.
Some plants demonstrated particularly poor performance. The Olorunsogo plant 2, designed to produce 750MW, generated just 37.43MW in Q1 and only 46.95MW in Q2. The Afam 1 plant managed only 73.48MW in Q1 and 59.92MW in Q2 from its 726MW capacity. Most concerning was the Alaoji plant, which despite having 500MW capacity, generated no power at all during the period under review.
Transmission and Distribution Bottlenecks Identified
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has explained that the massive disparity between capacity and actual generation stems from inefficiencies in transmission lines and distribution companies (DisCos). Distribution companies reportedly rejected an average of 191.49MW worth of electricity hourly in the first quarter of 2025 and 79.59MW in the second quarter.
NERC provided additional context, stating that power plants are only dispatched when the grid can safely absorb the energy while operating within technical limits. The commission identified several factors contributing to the shortfalls:
- Fluctuations in plant output based on grid demand
- Mechanical operability of generating units
- Availability of feedstock
- Financial competitiveness of each plant within the merit order system
Minister Adelabu emphasized that while Nigeria's evacuation grid can take 8,500MW and is increasing its capacity, the country has not been able to utilize more than 5,000MW. He stressed that demand must equal generation and consumption at any given time and appealed to state regulators and distribution companies to work toward increasing consumption.
The power minister had previously urged electricity market regulators at the state level to ensure that distribution companies increase their offtake, enabling generating companies to send more power to the national grid.
Meanwhile, Nigeria continues to export electricity to West African countries, with reports indicating the country allocates 600MW daily for bilateral power trade agreements with 15 neighboring nations. The Federal Government is reportedly targeting about N1.49 trillion in annual revenue from these electricity exports.
