Nigeria’s grid-connected power plants operated at an average of 86 per cent of available capacity in August 2026, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said.
This is contained in NERC’s August 2026 factsheet, published on Thursday.
The report showed average available capacity of 4,758 megawatts (MW) during the month, against average hourly generation of 4,102MW, leaving about 656MW of available capacity unutilised on average.
Kainji_1 posted the highest load factors among major plants, generating 345MW from 352MW available (98 per cent), while Afam_2 generated 262MW from 265MW (99 per cent). Egbin_1 operated at 96 per cent, producing 333MW from 347MW available, and Ihovbor_2 recorded 92 per cent, generating 418MW from 454MW.
Other plants included Delta_1 (80 per cent), Zungeru_1 (72 per cent), Odukpani_1 (74 per cent), Shiroro_1 (87 per cent), Jebba_1 (83 per cent) and Okpai_1 (87 per cent).
Olorunsogo_1, Omoku_1 and Igbafo_1 each recorded 100 per cent utilisation. Omotosho_1 generated 148MW from 149MW available (99 per cent), while Dadin-Kowa_1 recorded 98 per cent, generating 35MW from 36MW.
Lower utilisation was recorded at Afam_1 (67 per cent), Ikeja_1 (76 per cent) and Ihovbor_1 (79 per cent).
Olorunsogo_2 generated 87MW from 109MW available, while Sapele_1 generated 25MW from 27MW. Sapele_2, Alaoji_1, Geregu_2 and Ibom Power_1 recorded zero generation during the month.
Despite the high utilisation rate, NERC reported breaches of prescribed grid frequency and voltage limits during the period.
The commission said average lower grid frequency stood at 49.34Hz and average upper grid frequency at 50.67Hz, both outside the prescribed operating range of 49.75Hz to 50.25Hz.
It also recorded average lower grid voltage of 302.29 kilovolts (kV) and average upper grid voltage of 349.68kV, exceeding the prescribed range of 313.50kV to 346.50kV.
The August figures point to a grid operating at relatively high utilisation of available generating capacity, even as frequency and voltage excursions remained a notable operational concern.
SOURCE: Blueprint
