Nigeria power sector loses 150 billion naira in second quarter

Nigeria’s power sector recorded losses of about 150 billion naira in the second quarter of 2026, twice the target set by the regulator. Rilwan Babalola, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on electricity, announced the figure on Wednesday in Lagos during the Leadership Summit at the Nigeria Energy 2026 conference and exhibition, according to ThisDay.

Technical, commercial and collection losses reached between 30% and 40%, depending on the distribution companies, against a regulatory target half as high. Rilwan Babalola said 21% of the electricity transmitted through transformers was not billed and that 20% of billed energy was not collected. The sector’s accumulated debts are currently estimated at 3.3 trillion naira, prompting the federal government to consider payment guarantees to prevent them from accumulating.

Nigeria has more than 13,000 megawatts of installed capacity, but produces only 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts daily. The government attributes this gap to performance and planning shortcomings rather than a lack of capacity, while targeting 270 gigawatts of electricity generation by 2060. Minister of Electricity Joseph Tegbe also said the president had ordered the resolution of the crisis linked to the Mambila hydroelectric project.

The announcements came the day after the repayment of 1.23 trillion naira to electricity producers, announced on 28 October 2026.