A severe nationwide power crisis is deepening in Nigeria as power generation companies (GenCos) have partially shut down operations, citing an unsustainable debt burden exceeding N6.8 trillion ($4.2 billion). The crisis has left millions without electricity and raised alarms about the stability of the country’s entire power sector.
Data from the Nigeria Independent System Operator (NISO) indicates that as of Tuesday, 16 of Nigeria’s 33 power plants were not supplying electricity. The affected facilities are struggling with an inability to fund critical maintenance, secure consistent gas supplies—the primary fuel for most plants—and cover basic operational costs.
This liquidity crisis mirrors challenges across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), according to Joy Ogaji, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC). She warned that without immediate financial intervention, generation companies will be unable to continue providing services.
“We cannot maintain the machines,” Ogaji stated, emphasizing that inadequate funding prevents essential servicing of equipment. “Money for hand, light for house, gas for pipe. This is more than an industry issue. It is an economic imperative. Reliable power is the backbone of industrialization, job creation, and national development. The time to act is now.”
The threat of a complete shutdown is not new. Earlier, GenCos and gas suppliers had issued warnings over a separate but related debt of N3.3 trillion, which had already strained supply chains.
The current, more extensive shutdown highlights a chronic cash flow problem within the sector. Despite being one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria’s power infrastructure has long suffered from underinvestment, operational inefficiencies, and a complex subsidy regime that has left companies heavily indebted. The immediate consequence is a worsening of daily blackouts for businesses and households, already a persistent reality for many Nigerians.
The collapse in generation capacity directly threatens economic activity, from small-scale enterprises to large-scale manufacturing, and exacerbates the cost of living crisis. The federal government faces mounting pressure to resolve the financial quagmire, including settling outstanding debts and implementing a sustainable tariff policy that ensures GenCos receive adequate revenue. Without a swift resolution, the crisis risks stalling any progress toward improving the nation’s power supply and broader economic development goals.
