70% of Nigeria's Power Plants Idle Amid N204bn Revenue

According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), 70% of Nigeria's installed power generation capacity remained idle throughout March 2026. Despite this, electricity distribution companies (Discos) successfully collected N204.74 billion in revenue, indicating a stark disconnect between revenue generation and service delivery.

The average availability factor across 28 grid-connected plants plummeted to 30%, with a total installed capacity of 13,625 megawatts, averaging only 4,089 megawatts available for dispatch. Notably, major facilities like Alaoji, Omotosho 2, and Ibom Power 1 recorded zero availability during this period.

The report also highlighted that the grid's physical infrastructure remains in severe distress, with voltage and frequency levels frequently breaching regulatory limits. NERC's new stringent commercial collection targets, effective January 2026, aimed to improve recovery efficiency, but the average recovery performance dropped to 3.15% in January 2026, down from the previous year's performance.