Grid Instability Persists As GenCos Operate At 31% Capacity In April

Grid instability persisted in April 2026 as Nigeria’s generation companies (GenCos) operated at just 31 per cent of their installed capacity, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has reported.

Average available generation stood at 4,286 megawatts (MW) out of a total installed capacity of 13,625MW across 28 grid-connected plants, according to NERC’s latest operational performance factsheet published on Friday.

While available generation rose five per cent from March, voltage and frequency readings remained outside approved limits, undermining grid reliability.

NERC said the plants recorded an average hourly generation of 4,048 megawatt-hours per hour (MWh/h), giving a load factor of 94 per cent.

This shows that most available power was dispatched during the period.

The regulator noted that the Plant Availability Factor (PAF) was 31 per cent, meaning 4,286MW was available for dispatch from the 13,625MW total installed capacity.

Voltage and frequency breaches continue

Grid voltage averaged 302.60 kilovolts [kV] on the lower end and 353.40kV on the upper end, both outside the prescribed range of 313.50kV to 346.50kV.

This ongoing voltage instability affects the quality of electricity supply to consumers and industries, NERC stated.

System frequency also deviated from limits, averaging 49.20 hertz (Hz) on the lower side and 50.76Hz on the upper side, compared with the allowed range of 49.75Hz to 50.25Hz.

Top GenCos dominate output

The top 10 plants generated 81 per cent of total electricity in April, led by Egbin, Kainji, Jebba, Ihovbor, Delta, Shiroro and Afam.

Egbin topped the list with 557MW available from 1,320MW installed (42 per cent PAF], a 93 per cent load factor and 520MWh/h average output.

Kainji recorded 473MW from 760MW (62 per cent PAF], 97 per cent load factor; Jebba had 393MW from 578MW (68 per cent PAF), 95 per cent load factor.

Ihovbor 2 achieved 100 per cent availability with 459MW from 461MW and a 93 per cent load factor.

Others like Zungeru (99 per cent) load factor, 43 per cent PAF and Afam 2 (100 per cent)  load factor, 41 per cent PAF also featured strongly, alongside Delta 1, Shiroro 1, Okpai 1 and Odukpani 1.

Underperforming plants drag sector

Several plants underperformed significantly. Olorunsogo 2 had just 33MW available from 750MW (four per cent PAF), though with a 97 per cent load factor.

Afam 1 managed 8 per cent availability; Sapele Steam 1 recorded 1 per cent and near-zero output.

Alaoji 1, Ibom Power 1 and Rivers 1 posted zero availability. Sapele 2 and Geregu 1 had 10 per cent and 2 per cent PAF, respectively.

Ikeja 1 hit 100 per cent availability from 110MW, while Olorunsogo 1 and Omatosho 1 reached 100 per cent load factors.