Power: NERC Reports 81% Grid Utilisation Out Of 5,038MW Available Capacity In September
By Sunday Etuka
Nigeria’s power grid operated outside prescribed frequency and voltage limits in September 2026, even as 81 percent of its 5,038 megawatts of available capacity was utilised, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The commission’s operational performance factsheet for the month shows that average available capacity rose by 5.89 percent from August. Average hourly generation stood at 4,089 megawatts, a 0.30 percent dip from the previous month.
On stability, the report shows the grid strayed beyond the targets. Average lower frequency was 49.43Hz and average upper frequency was 50.69Hz, against a target range of 49.75Hz to 50.25Hz. Voltage was also off target, with the average lower reading at 304.90kV and the upper at 350.28kV, against a range of 313.50kV to 346.50kV.
Several plants ran close to full capacity. Olorunsogo 1 posted a 100 percent load factor, followed by Kainji 1 at 98 percent, and Omotosho 1 and Omoku 1 at 95 percent each. Afam 2 and Egbin 1 recorded 94 percent each, Ihovbor 2 reached 91 percent, and Geregu 1 hit 90 percent.
Other plants lagged badly. Alaoji 1, Ibom Power 1 and Rivers 1 had zero available capacity during the month. Dadin Kowa 1 and Trans Amadi 1 went above 100 percent load factor, which the factsheet attributes to directives from the System Operator to push output beyond declared availability to support grid stability.
NERC explained that load factor measures how much of available capacity is actually used, calculated as the ratio of average electricity generated to maximum possible generation.
