Nigeria’s electricity challenges could intensify in the coming weeks as gas suppliers suspend deliveries to thermal power plants, citing an estimated N3.3 trillion debt owed by power generation companies.

The move threatens to worsen the country’s ongoing power shortage.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr. Joy Ogaji, warned in an interview on Fresh FM, that the growing debt across the power sector is steering the industry toward a serious crisis.

Dr. Ogaji attributed the crisis to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc’s failure to fully pay for electricity produced by generation companies since the sector’s privatisation. She noted that the government currently owes GenCos around N6.8 trillion, with approximately 70 per cent of this debt linked to thermal power plants.

She further explained that about 70 per cent of the government’s debt to gas-fired power plants is owed to gas suppliers, meaning gas companies are collectively owed roughly N3.3 trillion out of the N4.76 trillion associated with thermal generation.

Ogaji revealed that gas suppliers have notified generation companies they will halt gas deliveries to power plants unless outstanding payments are settled. She added that power generation companies have maintained detailed records of all amounts owed to them by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.

“NBET is set up to buy power from GenCos and sell to DisCos. The aim is that as they buy power, they will pay in full, but since 2013 till today, they’ve never paid in full, so this debt is now N6.8tn,” she said.

Providing a breakdown of the debt, Dr. Ogaji noted that the liabilities have escalated sharply over time.

“From 2015 to December 2024, the debt profile grew to N4tn. In each month of 2025, there is a shortfall of N200bn, so if you calculate N200bn times 12, that is N2.4tn, making the whole debt N6.4tn after December 2025. We’re already in March 2026. The debt grew to N6.6tn in January and N6.8tn in February. At the end of March, you need to add N200bn again to make it N7tn,” she said.

Dr. Ogaji added that a large share of the outstanding debt is owed to gas suppliers, as thermal power plants constitute the bulk of electricity generation on the national grid.

Her comments come as electricity supply continues to worsen across the country, with many Nigerians facing prolonged blackouts since the start of the year.

According to data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator, power generation has fallen below 4,000 megawatts in recent weeks, largely due to gas shortages affecting thermal plants.

As of Tuesday, the nation’s 11 power distribution companies were distributing just 3,053MW, making reliable electricity supply impossible across their service areas.