The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has disputed claims that the country’s electricity crisis is primarily caused by inadequate transmission capacity.
It insisted that the latest data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shows generation shortfalls, not grid limitations, remain the biggest obstacle to improved power supply.
In a statement issued on Thursday, TCN challenged recent claims by the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), published by THISDAY on July 28, that more than 2,500 megawatts of electricity are stranded daily because the national grid can only wheel about 4,500MW despite an installed generation capacity exceeding 15,500MW.
Describing the narrative as inconsistent with NERC’s audited First Quarter 2026 report, TCN argued that the regulator’s own data shows Generation Companies (GenCos) declared an average available generation capacity of only 4,457.96MW during the period, virtually the same figure APGC described as the grid’s transmission limit.
According to TCN, the NERC report also puts the combined installed capacity of the 28 grid-connected power plants at 13,625MW, well below the over 15,500MW cited by APGC.
The company maintained that its verified transmission wheeling capacity currently stands at 8,700MW following extensive investments in transmission infrastructure, including transformers, substations and transmission lines.
It said the network had already demonstrated its capability by successfully transmitting a historic peak generation of 5,801.84MW on March 4, 2025, alongside a record daily energy delivery of 128,370.75MWh.
TCN further pointed to NERC’s Plant Availability Factor, which stood at just 32.72 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, indicating that more than two-thirds of installed generation capacity was unavailable for dispatch because of gas shortages, maintenance outages and mechanical faults at power stations.
According to the statement, Several plants, including Alaoji, Rivers, Ibom Power and Sapele Steam, recorded extremely low availability during the quarter, while hydropower output also declined sharply due to seasonal low water levels and maintenance activities.
The company also argued that NERC’s reported grid load factor of 92.26 per cent undermines claims that between 2,500MW and 4,000MW of electricity is stranded daily.
It noted that the data suggests only about 345MW of available generation went undispatched on average during the quarter.
On transmission losses, TCN said the report recorded a Transmission Loss Factor of 7.96 per cent, equivalent to roughly 327MW on average, far below claims of daily technical losses of between 1,200MW and 1,300MW.
The company also rejected suggestions that the January 27, 2026 grid disturbance was caused by transmission failure, saying NERC’s preliminary findings attributed the incident to inadequate reactive power support.
It, however, acknowledged that a separate collapse on January 23 involved a transmission asset and had since been investigated.
TCN further argued that the reported N2.28tn GenCo capacity payment shortfall is more closely linked to commercial and market settlement issues than transmission constraints.
It cited NERC’s findings that Distribution Companies recorded Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses of 37.44 per cent in the first quarter and remittance shortfalls of N24.95bn.
(The Whistler)
