Across Nigeria, households and businesses have been plunged into repeated blackouts, and NISO blames the crisis on a severe shortage of gas for thermal power plants.
Gas Shortages Trigger Blackouts
The outages began in early February when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and Seplat Energy conducted scheduled maintenance that disrupted gas deliveries to several key plants.
Consequently, electricity generation dropped sharply nationwide.
Thermal Plants Struggle To Operate
On Friday, NISO reported that average generation now stands at around 4,300 megawatts, far below Nigeria’s installed capacity.
Since thermal plants provide most of the country’s electricity, they suffer most when gas supplies fall short.
Read Also: NNPC Cash Squeeze Fears After Tinubu Revenue Directive
According to NISO, gas currently covers less than 43% of the volume that plants need to operate optimally.
As a result, the system operator implements load shedding across the national grid, distributing available electricity according to NERC MYTO allocation rules to maintain stability.
Operational data further shows that thermal stations need 1,629.75 million standard cubic feet (mmscf) of gas daily, but suppliers delivered only about 692 mmscf as of February 23, 2026.
This means that operators lack more than half the gas required to run plants, sharply limiting electricity dispatch.
Plans To Boost Supply
Because Nigeria depends on gas-fired thermal plants for over 70% of grid electricity, any disruption immediately affects homes, offices, and factories.
Earlier this month, NNPC Ltd warned that Seplat’s maintenance would temporarily reduce gas supply.
Looking ahead, NNPC Ltd has launched its Gas Master Plan 2026, aiming to produce 10 billion cubic feet of gas daily to boost industrialisation and strengthen energy security.
Meanwhile, Nigerians continue to cope with unpredictable blackouts that disrupt daily life across the country.
