Nigeria’s 28 Power Plants Operate At 31% Capacity In April

Twenty-eight grid-connected electricity generation plants across Nigeria produced an average of 4,286 megawatts of electricity in April 2026, despite having a combined installed generation capacity of 13,625MW, highlighting the persistent underperformance in the country’s power sector.

Data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, showed that the plants recorded a Plant Availability Factor, PAF, of just 31 per cent during the month under review.

The operational performance factsheet further indicated that an average of 4,048MWh/h of the available generation capacity was utilised in April, representing a 94 per cent load factor.

According to the report, Nigeria’s largest power generation plants, including Egbin ST, Delta GS, Kainji, Shell’s Afam VI, Zungeru, Odukpani, Shiroro, Jebba, Okpai, Azura IPP and Geregu, collectively generated 3,449MW, accounting for 81 per cent of total electricity generated during the month.

Other smaller generation plants, including Afam IV-V, Sapele ST, Olorunsogo NIPP, Omotosho NIPP, Sapele GT NIPP, Ihovbor NIPP, Geregu NIPP, Omotosho, Olorunsogo, Ibom Power, Rivers NIPP, Omoku, Trans Amadi, Paras, Taopex Energy, Mepp and Dadin Kowa, contributed a combined 836MW, representing 19 per cent of total generation.Power sector updates

Among individual plants, Egbin-1 emerged as the highest power producer with 557MW, followed by Kainji-1 with 473MW, while Ihovbor-2 generated 459MW in April 2026.

The report also revealed that some power plants recorded no generation during the month despite significant installed capacities.

Alaoji-1, Ibom Power and Rivers-1 NIPP generated zero megawatts from installed capacities of 500MW, 190MW and 180MW respectively.

Similarly, Sapele Steam-1 generated only an average of 5MWh/h during the review period, reflecting ongoing operational and technical constraints affecting parts of the nation’s electricity infrastructure.

The latest NERC data underscores the continuing gap between Nigeria’s installed electricity generation capacity and actual power delivered to the national grid, despite years of investment and reforms in the sector.