Nigeria's Power Plants Ran at 86% Capacity in August

The recent report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shows that Nigeria's grid-connected power plants worked at an average of 86 percent of their available capacity in August 2026.

This was a key point in the NERC's August 2026 factsheet report released on Thursday. The report revealed that Nigeria's power plants had an average available capacity of 4,758 megawatts (MW) for the month, while the average hourly generation was 4,102 MW.

The report also noted that about 656 MW of the available generation capacity was not used on average during this time.

Among the main energy producers, Kainji_1 had a load factor of 98 percent, generating 345 MW out of 352 MW available capacity. Afam_2 achieved 99 percent, generating 262 MW against 265 MW available.

Egbin_1 operated at 96 percent, generating 333 MW from 347 MW of available capacity, while Ihovbor_2 recorded 92 percent, generating 418 MW from 454 MW of available capacity.

Other major plants in the report included Delta_1 at 80 percent load factor, Zungeru_1 at 72 percent, Odukpani_1 at 74 percent, Shiroro_1 at 87 percent, Jebba_1 at 83 percent, and Okpai_1 at 87 percent.

Despite the high usage rate, NERC reported that there were breaches of the set limits for grid frequency and voltage during the month.

The commission said the average lower grid frequency was 49.34 Hz, while the average upper grid frequency was 50.67 Hz, which is outside the recommended range of 49.75 Hz to 50.25 Hz.

It also mentioned that the monthly average lower grid voltage was recorded at 302.29 kilovolts (kV), while the average upper grid voltage was at 349.68 kV.

Both figures were above the recommended voltage range of 313.50 kV to 346.50 kV.

The data showed big differences in how much the plants were used.

Olorunsogo_1 hit a 100 percent load factor, generating 115 MW from 115 MW of available capacity. Omoku_1 and Igbafо_1 also had 100 percent usage.

Omotosho_1 produced 148 MW from 149 MW available, which means a 99 percent load factor, while Dadin-Kowa_1 recorded 98 percent after generating 35 MW from 36 MW available.

On the other hand, some plants had much lower usage. Afam_1 worked at 67 percent, Ikeja_1 at 76 percent, and Ihovbor_1 at 79 percent.

Several plants showed zero generation during the month, including Sapele_2, Alaoji_1, Geregu_2, and Ibom Power_1.

The commission's data also showed that Olorunsogo_2 generated 87 MW from 109 MW available, while Sapele_1 produced 25 MW from 27 MW available.

Overall, the August figures show that the grid operated at a high level of capacity, but issues with frequency and voltage remain significant.