Who runs Nigeria's power sector? A simple map from power station to your meter

Electricity in Nigeria does not come from one company. It passes through a chain, and each link is run by someone different. When supply fails, knowing the chain helps you understand where the problem might be.

Step 1: Generation

It starts at power stations owned by generation companies, or GenCos. Most of Nigeria's grid electricity comes from gas-fired plants, with hydro stations on the Niger and Kaduna rivers adding more. When gas supply to the plants drops, so does the electricity they can produce.

Step 2: Transmission

From the power stations, electricity travels long distances on high-voltage lines to substations around the country. For years, one body did all of this: the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

That changed. In April 2024, NERC ordered TCN to be split. TCN keeps the wires and towers as the transmission service provider. A new body, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), runs the system: it decides how much each plant should produce at any moment, keeps supply and demand in balance, and runs the market. NISO's board and management were inaugurated in April 2025.

Step 3: Distribution

At the substations, electricity is handed to the distribution companies, or DisCos. They own the local lines, transformers and meters, and they are the companies you deal with: Ikeja Electric, Abuja Electric, Eko and others. There are 12 of them: the 11 created when the sector was privatised, plus Aba Power. Many reports still say 11.

DisCos buy power on behalf of their customers, deliver it, and collect payment. If they collect too little, they struggle to pay for the power, and the whole chain feels it.

Step 4: Regulation

Watching over all of this is the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). It licenses the companies and approves tariffs. Under the Electricity Act 2023, states can now set up their own regulators to take over these jobs inside their borders.

So who is to blame when the lights go off?

It depends where the chain broke. A fault on your street or transformer is your DisCo's. A wide blackout across many states usually points to the grid. Low supply for weeks on end can trace back to gas shortages at power stations. Your DisCo is still your first point of contact, because it is the company you pay.