Power Crisis Persists as Minister’s Two-Week Deadline Fails to Yield Results
Nigeria’s power crisis shows no signs of abating as the two-week timeline set by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, for significant improvement in electricity supply has expired without the promised relief.
Despite the Minister’s earlier apologies and a firm “two-week” pledge to end the recent wave of blackouts, national power generation remains stunted between 3,000MW and 4,000MW—a sharp decline from the 5,000MW peaks recorded in 2025.
The Blame Game: Gas Debts vs. Load Rejection
The failure to meet the deadline has exposed deep-seated friction across the power value chain. While the Minister cited gas pipeline repairs and supplier commitments as the path to recovery, industry stakeholders point to more systemic failures:
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Gas Shortages: Joy Ogaji, CEO of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), revealed that gas suppliers have stopped fueling thermal plants due to massive outstanding debts.
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Stranded Power: Of the 7,000MW available capacity from GenCos, only about 4,000MW is currently being off-taken. APGC reports that in February alone, over 3,200MW went unpicked by the grid.
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Load Rejection: GenCos have accused Distribution Companies (DisCos) of deliberately rejecting electricity allocations. DisCos, in turn, blame an inefficient transmission system, claiming power is often “dumped” in areas where they cannot effectively collect revenue.
Infrastructure Claims vs. Reality
A heated exchange has also erupted between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and DisCos over the country’s actual technical capacity. While TCN maintains its verified “wheeling capacity” has expanded to 8,700MW, distribution operators argue that actual operational capacity remains trapped near the 4,000MW mark.
As of Wednesday morning, the 11 DisCos were struggling to share just 3,500MW across the nation.
Economic Impact
The persistent outages continue to cripple small businesses, schools, and heavy industries, many of which are already struggling with high fuel costs for alternative power.
For many Nigerians, the Minister’s failed timeline has raised fresh doubts about the government’s ability to stabilize the grid. “It is not our wish to find ourselves in this situation,” Adelabu had stated, but for now, the “coordinated action” required to fix the sector remains elusive.
