Nigeria’s electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply sector contracted for the second consecutive quarter in 2026, shrinking by 10.63% year-on-year in real terms in the second quarter.
The latest ‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Q2 2026’ report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, indicated that the second quarter performance was an improvement from the 15.30% decline recorded in Q1 2026.
According to the Bureau, broader economy grew by 4.43% in real terms in Q2 2026, up from 4.23% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
The report’s data showed the power sector’s real output continued to decline despite an increase in its nominal value.
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The statistics agency reported that in nominal terms, the electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply sector grew by 0.87% year-on-year in Q2 2026, compared with 4.98% in Q1 just as the sector’s nominal value increased from N324.83 billion in Q1 to N1.26 trillion in the quarter under review.
Available data on the performance of the sector indicated that in the corresponding quarter of last year electricity generation increased by 10.92% supported by improved availability and operating performance of thermal and hydropower plants.
The thermal plants were the main drivers of the improved power generation with 16 of the 23 thermal power plants connected to the national grid recording higher average hourly output compared with the previous quarter.
Despite the improved generated power, the latest GDP data on the performance of the economy suggest that the gains in the broader economy have not yet translated into sustained real growth in the electricity and gas sector.
Over the past few years, electricity supply had remained a major constraint to Nigeria’s productive capacity as manufacturers, businesses and households continued to depend on the national grid alongside diesel- and petrol-powered generators to meet their energy needs.
The latest performance of the sector still pointed to the persistent structural challenges across the electricity value chain, including inadequate generation and transmission capacity, gas supply constraints, ageing infrastructure and liquidity problems affecting market participants.
