In what is being hailed as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s power sector, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a new peak power generation of 5,543.20 megawatts (MW); the highest in the nation’s history.
The record was set on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 11:00 pm, surpassing the previous high of 5,478.73MW, which was recorded just a day earlier.
However, in a stark irony to the alleged milestone, many Nigerian cities still grapple with blackouts and still resort to power-generating sets to escape the scorching heat.
In a statement on its X handle on Wednesday, TCN said the new peak surpassed the previous day’s peak of 5,4378MW.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is pleased to announce that the Nigerian Power Sector achieved a new peak generation of 5,543.20MW for the year 2025, On Friday, February 14, 2025, at 11:00 pm,” TCN said.
“This surpasses the previous peak of 5,478.73MW recorded on Thursday, February 13, 2025.
“Notably, the new Maximum Daily Energy of 125,159.48MWH is the highest ever recorded in the nation’s electricity industry, exceeding the previous record of 121,674.88MWH on February 7, 2025, by 3,484.60MWH.
“TCN successfully transmitted the new peak generation and maximum daily energy to the distribution companies’ load centers nationwide for onward distribution to their customers.
“This achievement underscores the commitment of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s administration and the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, to elevating Nigeria’s power generation and supply.”
The position of the TCN has been met with scathing criticism from many Nigerians who claimed they are experiencing excessive heat due to blackout.
According to ThankGod Ability Atuegbu on Facebook, he wrote “Millions of Nigerians are sleeping under this heat without power supply. Who’s talking about this jargon?
Another user, Chris David said the milestone appears good on paper but it doesn’t translate to power supply for the people.
“5,543.20 MW? That sounds impressive on paper, but how much of that power actually reaches the people? Let’s be real—Nigeria’s power sector has been plagued with inefficiency and corruption for years.
“Until the average citizen can rely on stable, affordable electricity, these ‘milestones’ are just numbers to make the government look good,” he wrote.
Another use implies that maybe the power generated is being sold elsewhere because all he sees is blackouts.
“I believe they are selling this light elsewhere because, since January, we have worst light in my area, almost throughout last year we were using around 12-15 hours light daily, but since this January maybe 30mins-3 hours daily and somedays straight blackouts” Sauban Abiodun Ayantan also wrote.
