DisCos ask power minister to address blame game amid nationwide electricity shortages

Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have called on the Minister of Power to intervene in the ongoing blame game among stakeholders in the electricity sector, warning that the industry is slipping back into the pattern that characterised it between 2016 and 2019.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, made the appeal on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, amid persistent electricity shortages across the country.

He criticised conflicting explanations from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) over gas supply constraints.

Oduntan criticizes blame game

Oduntan said disagreements among operators over the causes of poor electricity supply were threatening efforts to address the crisis, recalling a similar pattern of accusations that characterised the sector between 2016 and 2019.

He explained that distribution companies, transmission operators, generation companies and gas suppliers frequently blamed one another for inadequate electricity supply during that period.

• “Our major problem is that we have started that very wrong route that we went through between 2016 and 2019. What is that? Blame game,” he said.
• “Part of what happened at that time is that people will blame the DisCos, DisCos will blame TCN, TCN will blame GenCos, GenCos will blame the gas suppliers, and gas suppliers will blame payment issues. We have returned to that, and I think there is a need to arrest that,” he added.

The ANED chief also questioned conflicting explanations from NISO and NNPC regarding the factors responsible for the recent electricity shortages.

He noted that NISO had attributed the supply challenges partly to low water levels and inadequate gas supply, while NNPC subsequently issued a statement saying its gas transportation network had recorded no constraints affecting deliveries to power plants.

However, Oduntan questioned the completeness of the NNPC’s explanation, arguing that the company should clarify whether outstanding payments were affecting gas deliveries to power generation companies.

• “From the NNPC statement, it is very clear that they came to tell us half-truths. What I would have expected NNPC to do is to go ahead and talk to us whether there are payment issues. We need to know whether gas was paid for and delivered, who did, who didn’t,” he said.

He urged the Minister of Power to bring the relevant stakeholders together to establish the actual causes of the shortages and ensure accountability.

• “This back-and-forth blame game between gas suppliers, NNPC and, of course, TCN or NISO, I think the Minister of Power needs to take charge. There is a need for this leadership because, at the end of the day, they need to call them together,” he said.

Discos apologize over outages

Oduntan also apologised to Nigerians over the prolonged electricity shortages, acknowledging the hardship caused by weeks of inadequate supply.

• “I’d like to first of all start by apologising to Nigerians. Apology is needed; it is essential because Nigerians have been taken through this problem over the past few weeks,” he said.

The prolonged outages have intensified frustration among households and businesses, with unreliable electricity disrupting daily activities and increasing reliance on alternative power sources.

Conflicting accounts deepen concerns over power supply

Nairametrics had earlier reported on the conflicting explanations from key electricity sector operators over the causes of the country’s power shortages.

• On November 5, 2026, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) attributed the nationwide decline in electricity generation to inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants and reduced output from hydroelectric stations, resulting in lower allocations to DisCos and increased load shedding.

However, NNPC challenged NISO’s explanation three days later. On November 8, 2026, Nairametrics reported that NNPC disputed NISO’s explanation, saying its gas transportation network had recorded no constraints affecting deliveries to power plants. The company also reported a 10% increase in gas production in 2026 year to date.

Nairametrics also reported on November 7, 2026, that the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, expected electricity supply to improve within 48 to 72 hours, following planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, gas supply constraints and damage to critical transmission infrastructure.