Gencos Lose N110.56bn to Stranded Generation Capacity in H1
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Generation Companies (Gencos) lost an estimated N110.56 billion in capacity payments in the first six months of 2026 as an average 3,124.50MW of generation capacity remained
Nigeria's generation companies (Gencos) suffered an estimated N110.56 billion in revenue loss due to stranded generation capacity during the first half of 2026, according to data released by the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC). Stranded generation refers to the capacity of electricity that is technically available but cannot be fully utilized due to limited demand, transmission issues, or other system constraints.
Between January and June 2026, an average of 3,124.5MW of generation capacity remained stranded each month. While Gencos had an average available generation capacity of 7,260MW during this period, only 4,581.5MW was declared available for generation. Actual average generation stood at 4,196.83MW, indicating that the stranded capacity represented about 43% of the average available capacity and 68.2% of the declared capacity during the six-month period.
The financial impact of stranded capacity was most severe in March, when stranded capacity reached its peak at 3,650MW, or 49.3% of available capacity. This resulted in the highest monthly capacity payment loss of N22.13 billion, accounting for approximately 20% of the total N110.56 billion loss. However, improvements were observed in April and May, with stranded capacity decreasing to 3,193MW and 2,710MW respectively, and capacity payment losses falling to N18.74 billion and N16.43 billion.
Despite these improvements, stranded capacity remained a significant issue, reducing available capacity and limiting revenue generation for the Gencos.
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