FG blames gas shortage for blackouts in 5 states

The Federal Government has attributed the worsening electricity supply disruptions across five states to an acute shortage of gas at thermal power stations and declining water levels at hydroelectric plants.

To address the infrastructure deficit, the government has commenced the clearance of power equipment containers abandoned at Lagos ports for over a decade.

The power outages have thrown states including Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, Kwara, and Oyo states into darkness.

According to the current distribution data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator, 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) received a combined allocation of just 2,926 megawatts on November 5, 2026.

A breakdown of the national grid allocation revealed interstate disparities, as the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company receives the highest allocation of 633MW, while the Yola Electricity Distribution Company received the lowest load allocation of 74MW to distribute to consumers.

Other distributions like the Ibadan DisCo, received 391MW, while the Port Harcourt, Benin, and Eko DisCos were allocated 320MW, 264MW, and 256MW respectively.
The Enugu (253MW), Ikeja (249MW), Kano (173MW), Kaduna (167MW), and Jos (146MW) DisCos received the remaining load allocations as the government works with the Transmission Company of Nigeria to stabilise the grid.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Adeola Adelabu, acknowledged the disruptions across the affected regions, reassuring Nigerians that the government is actively engaging relevant agencies to resolve the generation constraints.

“The Ministry acknowledges the inconvenience this has caused households, businesses and public institutions, and understands the frustration of Nigerians who had begun to see the benefits of steadier supply. We recognise what every hour without power means for individuals, families and businesses, and we do not take it lightly.”

The Ministry of Power also confirmed the clearance of 44 containers of electrical equipment from the Apapa ports. These critical assets are part of over 300 containers that have remained stranded at the ports since 2014.

The clearance operation follows an order from President Bola Tinubu, who directed the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Ports Authority to reconcile outstanding port charges and release the equipment. Technical experts will inspect the recovered assets before their deployment to ongoing electricity projects across the country.

This development aligns with recent interventions by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, led by its Managing Director, Jennifer Adighije. The NDPHC successfully retrieved 110 abandoned containers and 216 packages, a recovery operation that saved the Federal Government over ₦30 billion and unlocked an additional 470 megawatts of generation capacity.