Nigeria’s power sector struggled significantly in March 2026, with only 30 per cent of generation capacity available for electricity supply, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
In its March Operational Performance Factsheet, the regulator revealed that just 4,089 megawatts (MW) out of a total installed capacity of 13,625MW was available for dispatch, leaving a staggering 70 per cent of capacity idle.
Despite low availability, distribution companies (DisCos) utilised up to 93 per cent of the available power, drawing about 3,815MW/h from the grid.
This suggests that while demand remains strong, generation constraints continue to limit overall electricity supply.
NERC attributed the poor performance to ongoing operational challenges across the upstream segment of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), pointing to widespread downtime among power plants.
Amid the weak performance, a few plants stood out. Ihovbor_2, Kainji_1, and Jebba_1 recorded relatively strong availability and high utilisation rates during the period.
The latest data highlights the persistent gap between Nigeria’s installed capacity and actual power generation, underscoring the urgent need to address infrastructure, gas supply, and operational inefficiencies in the sector.
