Nigeria’s prolonged power outages, affecting homes and businesses across the country, are primarily due to inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants, the Nigerian Independent System Operator announced on Friday
The system operator attributed the sustained drop in electricity generation to severe fuel constraints affecting the national grid.
In a statement titled “Declining Power Output Attributable to Generation Shortfalls and Gas Supply Limitations” released on its official X handle, NISO said the average available generation currently hovers around 4,300 megawatts, far below Nigeria’s installed capacity.
The outages began in early February following scheduled maintenance on key gas supply infrastructure by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Seplat Energy, which temporarily disrupted gas deliveries to several thermal plants, triggering a nationwide decline in electricity generation.
The situation has persisted due to ongoing constraints in gas supply, worsening the power shortfall.
The NISO statement explained that the drop in supply is directly linked to severe gas constraints affecting thermal generating stations, which form the dominant share of Nigeria’s electricity generation mix.
“We hereby notify the general public and all market participants that the current average available generation of approximately 4,300MW is primarily due to inadequate gas supply to thermal generating stations,” the operator said.
It added that because thermal plants form the backbone of the national grid, any disruption in gas supply automatically translates into lower generation and reduced energy allocation to Distribution Companies.
“Given that thermal plants account for the dominant share of Nigeria’s generation mix, any disruption or limitation in gas supply directly affects available generation capacity and overall grid output,” the statement added.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
