Nigeria’s grid breaches limits despite 85% plant utilisation

Detailed summary

Nigeria’s electricity grid operated outside prescribed frequency and voltage limits in October, despite power plants using 85% of available capacity. Read More:…

Nigeria’s electricity grid operated outside prescribed frequency and voltage limits in October, despite power plants utilising 85 per cent of their available generation capacity, raising fresh concerns about the stability of the country’s fragile power system.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission disclosed this in its October 2026 Operational Performance Factsheet, released on Wednesday, which showed that the grid recorded frequency and voltage levels outside the operational limits set for the electricity network.

NERC said the grid operated outside the prescribed frequency range in October, noting that, “The average lower grid frequency (49.46 Hz) and average upper grid frequency (50.66 Hz) during the month exceeded the prescribed limits (49.75 Hz – 50.25 Hz).”

The regulator also reported similar deviations in voltage, stating that, “The monthly average lower grid voltage (305.00 kV) and average upper grid voltage (353.94 kV) during the month exceeded the prescribed limits (313.50 kV – 346.50 kV).”

The figures indicate that the grid experienced deviations on both sides of the approved operating ranges, even as power plants maintained relatively high utilisation of their available capacity.

NERC’s data showed that average available generation capacity stood at 4,744 megawatts in October, down by 5.85 per cent from the previous month.

Average hourly generation also fell by 1.02 per cent to 4,047MW compared with September, while the average load factor increased by 4.16 per cent to 85 per cent.

The load factor measures how much of a power plant’s available capacity is used to generate electricity over a given period. The October figure means that, on average, power plants generated about 85 per cent of their available capacity.

The performance of individual plants showed that Jebba recorded the highest load factor among the leading generators at 99 per cent, producing an average of 423MW against an available capacity of 429MW.

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