Nigeria: Power Outages Remain Despite Rise in Generation, Ministerial Promise

What the report says

Nigeria’s electricity supply problems continued even as generation rose to 4,020.41 megawatts on Monday, according to data cited by Vanguard and distributed by AllAfrica. The report said the increase from 3,500MW had still not eased outages in many parts of the country. It also noted that the power ministry had earlier promised that normal supply would be restored within 72 hours, but that deadline had already passed.

The article said 20 power plants were connected to the national grid and that output remained below a higher peak recorded over the weekend. It identified Afam VI, Shiroro Hydro and Azura-Edo as major contributors, while Egbin generated far less than its installed capacity. Distribution allocations to the 11 electricity firms were also listed, with Abuja, Ikeja, Eko and Ibadan among the largest recipients.

Power Minister Joseph Tegbe said service had improved in some places, including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory, and that a damaged transmission line had been repaired. He also said the government had paid part of what it owes generation companies and is pursuing a $2 billion super grid project. However, he acknowledged that outages persisted in some communities.

The report adds broader context from sector stakeholders, including the electricity distributors’ association, which apologised to customers and warned against renewed blame-shifting among operators. A former NBET chief also said lasting improvement will require long-term investment and planning rather than quick fixes.