68% of Nigeria’s Power Plants Remained Idle in February, Says NERC
By 𝔸bdulrazak Tomiwa
The National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC hss reported that 68% of Nigeria’s grid-connected power plants sat idle in February.
This highlights severe ongoing challenges within the electricity industry, leaving the majority of the nation’s installed capacity unused.
Of the 13,625MW total capacity, only 4,374MW was actually available for dispatch. This reflects a low availability factor of 32%, meaning over 9,000MW remained offline due to various operational constraints.
The inactivity was primarily caused by gas supply shortages, mechanical failures, and scheduled maintenance. Additionally, aging infrastructure and liquidity issues continue to prevent generation companies from maintaining their units effectively.
Despite low availability, 95% of the power produced was utilized by consumers. However, this high demand creates a lack of spinning reserves, making the national grid highly vulnerable to frequent collapses.
Grid stability remains a major concern, with frequent voltage fluctuations threatening electrical equipment. These inconsistencies force many residential and industrial users to rely on expensive, private petrol or diesel generators.
Ultimately, NERC’s data shows a massive gap between installed capacity and actual electricity supply. Resolving this requires urgent investments in infrastructure and more reliable gas-to-power agreements to reduce plant idleness.
