THE GUARDIAN
More than 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity remain stranded in Nigeria, despite multibillion-dollar investments designed to enhance the country’s power transmission infrastructure.
These investments include the Nigeria-Germany deal, as well as loans from the World Bank and African Development Bank, intended to enhance the operations of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
This situation continues to burden consumers, who are paying high tariffs amid over N2.3 trillion in electricity subsidies in 2024 alone. The ongoing inefficiencies threaten to exacerbate the energy crisis for both homes and businesses.
A monthly analysis of electricity generation data from January to November 2024, obtained by The Guardian, reveals a consistent underutilisation of generation capacity, with significant inefficiencies recorded throughout the year.
In January, the available generation capacity stood at 6,444.05 MW, but Nigeria was only able to generate about 4,000 MW, leaving over 2,000 MW stranded. February marked the weakest performance of the year, with average generation dropping to 3,809.96 MW and stranded capacity peaking at 2,574.39 MW. While March and April showed gradual improvements, both months still recorded over 2,000 MW in stranded capacity.
May saw the highest available generation capacity of the year at 6,574.84 MW, but inefficiencies persisted, leaving a significant portion unused. June witnessed a decline across all parameters, with declared generation falling to its lowest level for the year at 4,227.23 MW.
In July and August, there were some improvements in declared and average generation, though stranded capacity remained high. In September, the declared capacity was 5,460.2 MW, with average generation at 4,540.28 MW. October saw a decline in performance, while November recorded the year’s lowest available generation capacity at 5,765.99 MW. However, stranded capacity significantly reduced to 1,504.33 MW during this period.
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