Nigeria’s electricity crisis may worsen in the coming weeks as gas suppliers halt supply to thermal power plants over an estimated N3.3tn debt owed by power generation companies, a development that could deepen the nationwide power shortage.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr Joy Ogaji, disclosed this during an interview on Fresh FM, monitored by our correspondent, warning that the mounting debt across the power value chain is pushing the sector toward a major crisis.
Her comments come amid worsening electricity supply across the country, with many Nigerians experiencing prolonged blackouts since the beginning of the year.
Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator shows that power generation dropped below 4,000 megawatts in recent weeks, largely due to gas constraints affecting thermal power plants. As of Tuesday, the 11 power distribution companies were sharing only 3,053MW, making the reliable supply of electricity impossible across their franchise areas.
Electricity consumers, regardless of the supply bands they belong to, have continued to lament the situation, especially amid rising fuel prices and the severe heat.
Recently, NISO provided operational data illustrating the scale of the shortfall, noting that thermal power plants require an estimated 1,629.75 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to operate at optimal capacity. However, as of February 23, 2026, actual supply stood at about 692.00 mmscf per day—representing less than 43 per cent of the required volume.
As gas supply continues to decline, it was gathered that several power plants have shut down while the Transmission Company of Nigeria engages in load shedding, rationing the limited energy available among the DisCos. On their various platforms, the distribution companies have repeatedly appealed to customers, attributing the outages to gas shortages.
Speaking on the situation, Ogaji explained that the crisis stems from the failure of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc to fully pay for electricity generated by GenCos since the sector’s privatisation. According to her, the government currently owes generation companies about N6.8tn, with roughly 70 per cent of the amount relating to thermal plants.
She explained that about 70 per cent of whatever the government owes gas-fired power plants belongs to gas suppliers, meaning gas companies are owed about N3.3tn out of the N4.76tn tied to thermal generation.
Ogaji disclosed that gas suppliers have informed generation companies that they will no longer supply gas to power plants unless payments are made. She added that power generation companies have continued to keep records of all outstanding payments owed to them by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.
“NBET is set up to buy power from GenCos and sell to DisCos. The aim is that as they buy power, they will pay in full, but since 2013 till today, they’ve never paid in full, so this debt is now N6.8tn,” she said.
Providing a breakdown of the debt, Ogaji stated that the liabilities have grown significantly over time.
“From 2015 to December 2024, the debt profile grew to N4tn. In each month of 2025, there is a shortfall of N200bn, so if you calculate N200bn times 12, that is N2.4tn, making the whole debt N6.4tn after December 2025. We’re already in March 2026. The debt grew to N6.6tn in January and N6.8tn in February. At the end of March, you need to add N200bn again to make it N7tn,” she said.
Ogaji added that a significant portion of the outstanding debt is owed to gas suppliers because thermal plants account for the majority of electricity generation on the national grid.
She said, “The generation companies have hydros, and we have thermal power plants. The thermal power plants are the ones that use gas. The hydro plants use water, so they do not owe gas suppliers.
“On the grid, we have 30 power plants; out of that, about 30 per cent are hydro now because Zungeru has added 700 MW, and there are other smaller hydro plants.
So, the remaining 70 per cent comes from gas.
“Therefore, for every N100 the thermal plants invoice NBET, N70 belongs to the gas suppliers. So, if we go by that ratio, out of the N6.8tn that I’m quoting, if we take out 70 per cent of that money that belongs to thermal plants, we need to work out another 70 per cent of that thermal 70 per cent, and that belongs to gas suppliers.”
Industry estimates based on this calculation show that about N3.3tn of the total debt is owed to gas producers, whose fuel powers most of Nigeria’s electricity generation.
The GenCo chief warned that the worsening debt crisis is directly responsible for the current electricity shortages. “Yes, it is 120 per cent correct to say that the debt is the reason why we are in darkness,” she said.
Ogaji added that gas producers are increasingly insisting on payment before supplying fuel to power plants.
“Gas is not available because the gas suppliers have told us that if we need gas, we need to put money on the ground to get gas in the pipe. We owed them a lot of money.
“The gas suppliers have really been very kind to us. They are the reason why the thermal plants are still generating power. But now, they have told us that if there’s no payment, there will be no gas for the thermal power plants,” she said.
According to Ogaji, the inability of generation companies to receive payments has also left them struggling to service bank loans obtained during the 2013 power sector privatisation.
“We owe gas suppliers, and we also owe lenders. You may have read in the papers that First Bank has been threatening to take over Egbin because of the acquisition loan,” she said.
She explained that GenCos’ financial burden has worsened significantly due to the sharp depreciation of the naira since the loans were obtained.
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