Nigeria’s electricity supply crisis has shown little sign of easing as stranded power generation capacity rose to 2,275 megawatts (MW) by December 2025, underscoring persistent weaknesses in transmission infrastructure and deepening liquidity challenges across the power sector.
Operational figures from electricity generation companies (GenCos) reveal that a significant portion of available power continues to go unevacuated due to grid limitations, contributing to unstable supply and recurring load shedding nationwide.
Data tracking the last five years show that stranded capacity stood at 2,248.50MW in 2021, declined to 1,816.49MW in 2022, rose again to 2,226.96MW in 2023, dipped slightly to 2,180.31MW in 2024, and climbed to 2,275.67MW in 2025, the highest level within the period.
GenCos attribute the situation to a 33.6 per cent shortfall in power evacuation, blaming ageing transmission assets and limited grid capacity. Industry operators warn that the inability to move generated power has resulted in revenue losses and weakened investor confidence in new generation projects, despite rising electricity demand.
Electricity distribution companies (DisCos), however, point to load restrictions imposed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) as the main reason for persistent power rationing across their networks.
Power supply challenges worsened in December 2025 after vandalism of gas pipelines feeding key thermal plants disrupted generation during the Christmas period. The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) confirmed that gas supply constraints caused a drop in grid generation, affecting several power plants.
NISO later announced improved generation levels following repairs to the Lagos–Escravos–Lagos gas pipeline and the restoration of gas supply. Despite this, electricity supply has remained unstable in many areas.
Power sector experts insist the crisis is systemic, citing weak transmission infrastructure, frequent grid instability, gas transportation bottlenecks, and load rejection by DisCos. They also highlight the sector’s chronic liquidity crisis as a major constraint on plant maintenance and gas procurement.
The Managing Director of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr. Joy Ogaji, said GenCos are willing to generate more power but are limited by failures in other segments of the value chain.
Economic analyst Dr. Muda Yusuf of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise noted that the absence of cost-reflective tariffs continues to strain sector finances, making government intervention unavoidable to prevent system collapse.
