TCN Disputes APGC's Claims on Electricity Shortfall

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has rejected claims made by the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) that the ongoing electricity shortfall in Nigeria is mainly due to insufficient transmission capacity. TCN argued that data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) indicates that the real issue lies with power generation constraints.

A report from NERC for the first quarter of 2026 revealed that the average generation capacity available was 4,457.96MW, which closely aligns with the wheeling limit cited by APGC. TCN also contested APGC's assertion of over 15,500MW installed generation capacity, stating that NERC lists the installed capacity for 28 grid-connected plants at 13,625MW.

Furthermore, TCN noted that Nigeria's transmission network has a verified wheeling capacity of 8,700MW, significantly exceeding the 4,500MW mentioned by APGC. TCN highlighted that investments in infrastructure have improved capacity, evidenced by a peak load of 5,801.84MW transmitted on March 4, 2025.

NERC's data also indicated that the average availability of generation plants was only 32.72% during the first quarter of 2026 due to various operational issues.