Nigeria’s power crisis is worsening, with electricity distribution companies pointing to weak generation from the country’s hydroelectric plants as a major contributor to frequent blackouts.

In an interview with Nairametrics, Sunday Oduntan, CEO of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), said Nigeria’s three major hydro plants—Shiroro, Kainji Dam, and Jebba—are not producing enough electricity to meaningfully serve the country. Because of this shortfall, DisCos have continued to rely heavily on gas-fired power plants to supplement their supply.

Oduntan also argued that improving the situation requires an increase in overall power output. He said electricity providers must be able to meet obligations, which depend on better generation capacity and performance across the supply chain.

He further linked the recurring outages and industry strain to financial difficulties facing electricity companies, particularly liquidity issues. According to him, the way out includes payments from consumers for electricity used and timely settlements by government agencies that owe electricity companies. He also emphasised the importance of addressing tariff mismatches and improving both technical and commercial alignment across the electricity value chain—generation, transmission, and distribution.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has also warned that power outages are largely driven by inadequate gas supply to thermal plants. In a recent statement, NISO said average available electricity generation has fallen to around 4,300 megawatts, which is significantly below the country’s installed capacity.

Meanwhile, electricity distribution companies are also dealing with additional financial pressure. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed DisCos to refund customers a total of N20.33 billion for prepaid meters purchased under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme. The regulator’s amended order requires the refunds to be credited to customers’ bills in equal instalments over 12 months.

Industry stakeholders say this refund directive comes at a time when DisCos are already struggling with liquidity and operational challenges, which could further deepen their financial strain.