GenCos Warn of Imminent Power Plant Shutdown Over N4trn Unpaid Debt
Samuel Mobolaji
Nigeria’s power generation companies (GenCos) have raised the alarm over the looming shutdown of power plants nationwide, citing an unsustainable N4 trillion debt owed by the Federal Government.
The Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), in a statement signed by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Col. Sani Bello (rtd), warned that the crippling debt — comprising N2 trillion for electricity supplied in 2024 and N1.9 trillion in longstanding legacy obligations — is pushing operators to the brink of collapse.
Despite supplying power to the national grid, GenCos revealed they receive less than 30 per cent of monthly payments, a situation they described as increasingly untenable for investors already burdened by taxes, regulatory pressures, and the rising cost of operation.
Bello noted that the liquidity crisis has left GenCos struggling to meet their financial obligations, including maintenance of facilities, fuel procurement, and loan servicing — all of which now threaten to paralyse electricity generation across the country.
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The association lamented the absence of a clear financing strategy, the failure of the power sector’s recovery initiatives, and the government’s 2025 budget allocation of N900 billion — which GenCos say is grossly inadequate to settle both arrears and future payments.
Calling for urgent intervention, the GenCos warned that the sector faces not only financial insolvency but a potential national security risk if the plants are forced to suspend operations.
They emphasised that without immediate action, the liquidity squeeze would disrupt the entire electricity value chain, compounding the country’s energy crisis and further stifling economic growth.
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