Nigeria’s electricity grid operated with low generation availability and experienced frequent system instability in January 2026, the Operational Performance Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has indicated.
The Factsheet published in the NERC’s X handle reflected that grid-connected power plants in the country operated significantly below their installed capacities during the month under review.
The data also showed that though Nigeria’s total installed generation capacity stood at 13,625 megawatts (MW) in January, only an average of 4,901MW was available for dispatch, resulting in a Plant Availability Factor (PAF) of 36 per cent.
NERC reported: “The grid-connected plants recorded a Plant Availability Factor (PAF) of 36%, at any time during the month, an average of 4,901 MW was available for dispatch into the grid.
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“The average lower grid frequency (49.03Hz) and average upper grid frequency (50.66Hz) during the month exceeded the prescribed limits (49.75Hz–50.25Hz),” the commission noted”, it added.
This is even as the report indicated that in the month of January, the nation’s total installed generation capacity stood at 13,625 megawatts, but only an average of 4,901 megawatts was available for dispatch during the month, translating to a PAF of 36 per cent.
However, the commission reported that the Average Load Factor, was recorded at 90 per cent, implying that about 4,421 megawatt-hours per hour of available power was dispatched and consumed, pointing to strong demand and limited reserves within the system.
