Nigeria faces the threat of a nationwide blackout as power generation companies (GenCos) have sounded the alarm over a staggering N4 trillion debt owed by the Federal Government.
In a statement on Monday, Colonel Sani Bello (rtd), Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), warned that continued neglect of the power sector’s financial crisis could bring the entire electricity supply chain to its knees.
According to the GenCos, the government owes N2 trillion for electricity supplied in 2024 alone, in addition to N1.9 trillion in long-standing legacy debts. They say they receive less than 30% of monthly payments for energy already delivered to the national grid, making it nearly impossible to keep operations afloat.
“The GenCos are at the heart of Nigeria’s power sector crisis. Despite massive investments to expand capacity, we are suffocating under unpaid debts, harsh policies, heavy taxes, and a volatile foreign exchange regime,” the APGC stated.
The power firms warned that without immediate government intervention—including a structured debt repayment plan—they may be forced to shut down operations, plunging the country into a full-blown blackout with potentially serious national security implications.
Despite maintaining power supply since the Partial Activation of Contracts in July 2022, the GenCos say they’ve been shortchanged, with no clear repayment roadmap in sight.
They further criticized the N900 billion budgeted for the power sector in 2025 as a “drop in the ocean,” insisting it falls woefully short of what is needed to stabilize Nigeria’s fragile electricity infrastructure.
To avert a power collapse, the GenCos are demanding a comprehensive debt recovery framework—ranging from direct cash payments to financial instruments or debt-equity swaps—warning that without bold action, darkness looms.
