TCN Cites NERC Report, Faults GenCos’ Stranded Power Claims
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TCN Cites NERC Report, Faults GenCos’ Stranded Power Claims
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN has said findings contained in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s First Quarter 2026 report exonerate the national grid from claims that inadequate transmission capacity is responsible for Nigeria’s persistent stranded power challenge.
The company said the report showed that poor generation availability, gas supply constraints and operational challenges at power plants were the major factors limiting electricity supply, contrary to allegations that the grid could only evacuate about 4,500 megawatts.
TCN made the clarification in a statement on Thursday while responding to recent claims by the Association of Power Generation Companies, published by THISDAY, that more than 2,500MW of electricity was wasted daily because of transmission bottlenecks.
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According to the transmission company, NERC’s audited report showed that the average generation capacity declared available by power generation companies during the first quarter of 2026 stood at 4,457.96MW, indicating that the quantity of electricity available for transmission was itself below the capacity of the national grid.
The company maintained that the grid currently has a verified wheeling capacity of 8,700MW following significant investments in transmission infrastructure across the country.
It added that the transmission network had already demonstrated its capability by successfully wheeling a record peak generation of 5,801.84MW in March 2025, exceeding the 4,500MW limit attributed to the grid.
TCN also cited NERC’s Plant Availability Factor data, which showed that only 32.72 per cent of the installed generation capacity was available during the review period, with several power plants recording extremely low operational availability due to gas shortages, maintenance and mechanical faults.
It noted that hydropower generation also declined because of seasonal low water levels and maintenance activities at major hydroelectric stations.
The company further argued that the regulator’s report showed an overall grid load factor of 92.26 per cent, indicating that almost all the electricity declared available by generation companies was successfully transmitted.
According to TCN, five generating plants recorded a 100 per cent load factor during the quarter, demonstrating that the grid evacuated all the electricity they supplied.
The company also disputed claims that transmission losses amounted to between 1,200MW and 1,300MW daily, saying NERC’s report put the Transmission Loss Factor at 7.96 per cent, equivalent to about 327MW of average hourly losses.
On the system disturbances recorded in January 2026, TCN explained that while the total system collapse on January 23 involved a transmission asset at Sapele Transmission Station, the partial collapse of January 27 was linked by NERC to inadequate reactive power support rather than transmission infrastructure failure.
The company further attributed the financial difficulties facing generation companies to poor remittances by electricity distribution companies, noting that NERC reported Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses of 37.44 per cent and a remittance shortfall of ₦24.95bn during the first quarter.
TCN reaffirmed its commitment to expanding the national transmission network through continuous investments in substations, transmission lines, grid automation and anti-vandalism measures, while urging stakeholders to rely on verified regulatory data in public discussions on the electricity sector.
