Nigeria has reduced electricity supply to the military-led Niger Republic from 80 megawatts to 46 megawatts — a 42% drop in power sales to the neighbouring country.
Niger’s Energy Minister, Haoua Amadou, confirmed the development, stating:
“Nigeria has resumed delivering electricity but only providing 46 megawatts instead of the usual 80 megawatts.”;
She explained that the reduction has caused Niger’s electricity production to fall by 30 to 50 percent, leading the national power utility Nigelec to implement power rationing across several regions, including the capital, Niamey.
“The measure has led the country’s electricity production to fall by 30 to 50 percent, and forced state-owned power company Nigelec to impose planned power cuts that can last several days, especially in Niamey,”; Amadou said.
The cuts follow Nigeria’s earlier suspension of electricity exports to Niger as part of sanctions imposed by ECOWAS after the July 2023 coup that ousted civilian President Mohamed Bazoum.
Despite the resumed supply, Nigeria is battling its own power crisis, currently generating just above 5,000 megawatts — far below the estimated 30,000 megawatts required to meet demand for over 200 million citizens.
Amid this domestic shortage, power generation companies (GenCos) in Nigeria have raised the alarm over unpaid debts exceeding ₦4 trillion. They warned that continued operations are unsustainable under current conditions.
In a statement signed by Col. Sani Bello (retd.), Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Power Generation Companies, GenCos said:
“The Power Generation Companies (‘GenCos’) are constrained to issue this press release to draw the attention of the Federal Government and key stakeholders to the need to urgently address the issue of inadequate payment for electricity generated by them and consumed on the national grid, which is currently threatening the continued operation of their power generation plants.”;
They noted that GenCos are being paid less than 30% of their monthly invoices, and in some cases, as little as 9% to 11%, due to the application of the “waterfall arrangement”, which prioritises other service providers.
The GenCos further stated:
“The continued non-payment for electricity generated and consumed on the national grid was pushing the Nigerian power sector towards a total collapse.”;
In response to the financial crisis, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has pledged intervention. His special adviser, Bolaji Tunji, said in an interview:
“The government is aware of the development and is making concrete steps to resolve the lingering issue.”;
He added:
“As part of the steps taken by the government, the Ministry of Finance will take charge of the payment very soon.”;
