Nigeria’s power sector under threat as GenCos reveal $8.4m total debt, crippling operations

The Managing Director of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, Lamu Audu, has revealed that Nigeria’s power generation companies (GenCos) are owed over $8.4 million by neighbouring countries for electricity supplied in the second quarter of 2025.

Audu disclosed this in Abuja during the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC). He stated that the debt stems from power exports to the Benin Republic, Togo, and Cameroon.

He noted, however, that the Niger Republic had been a consistent payer until recently, when it began facing domestic fiscal challenges.

This international payment default exacerbates the severe financial strain on Nigeria’s power sector. In her address, the Managing Director of APGC, Dr. Joy Ogaji, highlighted a catastrophic accumulation of over N4 trillion in debts owed to GenCos.

This massive sum includes unpaid invoices, interest payments, capacity payments, foreign exchange losses, and rising operational costs for gas and maintenance.

“The lack of liquidity makes it difficult for GenCos to service their debts, maintain operations, or attract new investments,” Dr. Ogaji stated. “We have cases where GenCos had to look outside the electricity market just to fund gas and keep generation running.”

She warned that the huge debts and poor credit ratings are eroding investor confidence, citing struggles to attract private participation for projects like the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

To address the crisis, GenCos are calling for stronger coordination within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). They urged regulators to prioritize improving transmission and distribution performance, suggesting that using tested capacity as a benchmark would enhance tariff development and promote accountability across the entire power value chain.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

See author's posts