Nigeria Wastes 2,500MW Daily Due to Grid Failures

The Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) reported that Nigeria wastes over 2,500 megawatts of generated power daily due to grid unreliability, impacting approximately 85 million Nigerians without electricity access. Dr. Joy Ogaji, CEO of APGC, stated that the country has an installed capacity of over 15,500 megawatts, but the grid can only transmit around 4,500 megawatts, highlighting a significant transmission failure rather than a generation failure.

Stranded power capacity averages between 2,500 and 4,000 megawatts, with 2,275.67 megawatts wasted as of December 2025, the highest in five years. The economic implications are severe, with businesses and households spending an estimated $23 billion annually on diesel and petrol for generators.

The World Bank estimates that unreliable electricity costs the economy between $26 billion and $29 billion per year. Additionally, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) reported that transmission inefficiencies cost the sector approximately N5 billion daily.