Consumer Groups, Stakeholders Question Gas Supply Disruptions, Urge End to Power Crisis

Consumer groups and key stakeholders have raised alarms over persistent gas supply disruptions plaguing Nigeria’s power sector, demanding urgent interventions to halt the ongoing crisis, as power generation capacity continues to shrink

Industry analysts and consumer groups called for broad-based policies that will lead to institutional reforms to enable the sector to achieve efficiency.

Speaking on the latest shortfall in generation capacity, Kunle Olubiyo, president of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network (NCPN), advocated modernising and automating Nigeria’s power sector to address chronic inefficiencies, frequent grid collapses, and energy poverty.

Speaking with our correspondent, Olubiyo, contended that unless an automation system is put in place, human elements will continue to create systemic problems, especially in debt calculations and energy consumption across the Generation, Distribution, and Transmission networks.

He also called on the government to revisit the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) metering and telemetering programme across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), which aims to reduce billing inaccuracies and eliminate meter bypass.

As of early 2026, the federal government, under NERC’s regulatory oversight, announced that smart meters procured under the World Bank-funded DISREP program must be provided to consumers free of charge and installed.

In her reaction, the founder of the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), Sola Salako Ajulo, said the consumer’s right to information is clearly being violated, as the authorities are not providing proper explanations for the drastic drop in power generation.

Ajulo said the situation improved months ago, then significantly deteriorated, and the buck-passing between the GenCos and gas suppliers is frustrating consumers.

She said even when the services are poor, consumers are meant to pay for services not rendered.

Ajulo said consumers are getting frustrated due to either the system’s ineptitude or inefficiencies.

She said no one could really identify where the problem is actually coming from but by and large Nigerian consumers are paying the price.

LEADERSHIP reports that gas supply shortages affecting thermal power plants, which generate the majority of the country’s electricity has significantly impacted Nigeria’s electricity supply system.

An energy lawyer and oil industry analyst, Chukwuebuka Ibeh, speaking with our correspondent, Nigeria is a potential short-term winner in the Middle East conflicts, but warned of its energy cost consequences.

More interestingly, the Dangote Refinery could emerge as a silent beneficiary. With global supply disruptions and rising refined product prices, a large domestic refinery well-positioned to supply both Nigeria and West Africa becomes strategically relevant and profitable. On the other hand, it could also create a vacuum in gas supply chains.

“On the other hand, the biggest losers are oil-importing economies. If tensions escalate, freight costs, insurance premiums, and product prices all rise. So while the conflict creates pressure globally, players with alternative supply capacity like Nigeria’s emerging refining sector may quietly find themselves in a stronger position, even though the common citizen will suffer the surge in price,” he argued

Also commenting, the chairman and chief executive officer of Falcore Power & Energy Limited, Yomi Falana, said the period for the Iran Oil War will depend on the situation at the Strait of Hormuz, where virtually all of the marine Vessels moving oil exports from the Middle East countries pass through on a daily basis.

Falana, pointed out that the scenario we face right now is that international oil prices has risen from $78/barrel price before the start of the Iran/US/Israel War to $95/barrel since the Strait of Hormuz has ceased to operate for fear of terrorist attacks on the marine oil tankers and all of these have significant effect in local supply arrangement

He affirmed that “The gaineers are the crude oil producers and Consignors in other Countries outside the Middle East that are now selling their crude oil at $95/barrel to Refineries.

“The losers are those consumers who are buying refined petroleum products at a higher cost at the pump stations.”

Furthermore, all the countries will have to contend with high inflation rates on goods and services, Falana said and said that Governments of Countries will have to introduce some fiscal measures to keep inflation under control so that prices of goods and services are not out of control as this may have knock-on effects on the value of the currency.

Already, the crisis has caused an immediate rise in fuel prices globally as production and transport of oil and gas across the region have slowed or stopped entirely in many cases.

Meanwhile, the drop, which started late last year when there was an explosion at Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline on December 10, disrupted operations of some power plants. The issue was fixed after about two weeks, and minimal supply was restored until   January, when the issue of the Federal Government’s debts to GenCos surfaced again.

Power generation companies (GenCos) which operate thermal power plants that use natural gas to produce electricity and connect their power plants to the national grid, allowing them to transmit generated electricity to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for distribution and sell electricity to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, which acts as a creditworthy off-taker, ensuring payment to Generation Companies.

The money owed to the GenCos reportedly rose to over N trillion as at early 2026, which was further complicated by the alleged debate that recently emerged between GenCos and the FG over the actual amount owed.

Also, the recently-triggered and ongoing Israel/US—Iran War has also caused immediate scarcity of and a spike in prices of petroleum products, further complicating the issue in Nigeria’s energy sector. Nigeria’s power sector relies heavily on gas-fired plants, which supply more than 70 per cent of electricity on the national grid.

Recent operational reports from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) show that national generation has dropped significantly because thermal plants are receiving less than half of the gas required to operate optimally.

For instance, thermal power plants require approximately 1,588.61 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to operate optimally. However, only about 652.92 million standard cubic feet have been available in recent periods. This severe shortfall has forced several generating units to shut down or operate below capacity, thereby resulting in a significant reduction in electricity available on the national grid.

In February, as a result of these gas challenges and their effects, national electricity generation dropped to around 4,300 megawatts, far below demand and the recent shutdown of some more units caused a further reduction of about 292MW in available generation on the grid, thereby reducing the electricity available for transmission to distribution companies nationwide.

Grid operators have had to implement load shedding nationwide to maintain system stability. This ongoing load-shedding and maintenance works on major transmission lines (including the Mando-Shiroro transmission line) have significantly affected transmission nationwide.

Since all Distribution Companies depend on the same national grid, the reduction in generation (occasioned by gas supply shortage) automatically translates to reduced allocation to every state and every distribution company across Nigeria.

While these challenges persists, some gas suppliers appear indifferent about claims in supply challenges.

A source close to the supply chain structure, absolved gas suppliers of not meeting their obligations.

The source, referred to as Seplat Energy Plc, which, in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), successfully scheduled and executed routine maintenance on its major gas production facilities.

The maintenance took place from February 12 to February 15, 2026, and was designed to ensure the long-term safety, reliability, and efficiency of the critical gas infrastructure.

The four-day exercise was part of standard industry safety and asset integrity protocols to enhance performance and reduce the risk of future unplanned outages.

The maintenance initially caused a temporary reduction in gas supply to the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company Limited (NGIC) pipeline network, affecting some gas-fired power plants and slightly lowering electricity output.

To minimise disruption, the NNPC Gas Marketing Limited (NGML) engaged alternative suppliers to maintain network stability.

On its part, Heirs Energies spokesperson Chidinma Ugbojiaku, in a response to LEADERSHIP inquiry, said, “Our power customers are up and running, we do not have issues with the gas supply.”

Following the distress in the power sector, industry leaders have estimated that over 40 million MSMEs nationwide are trapped in a prolonged crisis of low energy transmission and frequent power outages, disrupting business models across the value chain, from food processing, manufacturing, and particularly the SMEs, from welding to tailoring, laundry services and the indigenous bakery business.