70% of Power Plants Sit Idle as Discos Collect N204bn Revenue

Nigeria's power sector is in the throes of a deepening crisis, with a staggering 70 percent of the nation's installed power generation capacity lying idle throughout March 2026. This stark reality persists even as electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) aggressively collected over N204.74 billion from consumers in a single month, revealing a profound disconnect between revenue generation and the abysmal service delivery.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission's (NERC) operational data paints a grim picture. The plant availability factor across 28 grid-connected plants plummeted to a mere 30 percent. This means that out of a total installed capacity of 13,625 megawatts, only an average of 4,089 megawatts was available for dispatch to the national grid. Several multi-billion naira plants, including Alaoji One, Omotosho 2, and Ibom Power 1, recorded zero availability for the entire month, effectively becoming stranded assets.

Even the nation's flagship power producers struggled, with Egbin 1 recording only 35 percent availability and the Zungeru hydro plant hovering at 40 percent. Meanwhile, the commercial operations of the 11 Discos remained robust, with Ikeja Electric and Eko Disco leading the revenue charts. This paradox of idle generation and high revenue collection underscores the systemic inefficiencies plaguing Nigeria's power sector, leaving citizens to grapple with erratic supply and the constant threat of grid collapse.