Electricity generation in the country fell below the 4,000 megawatts mark on Sunday as the output of the hydropower plants tumbled by more than a third.

The latest data obtained from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator showed that the power plants on the national grid generated 3,657MW as of 6am on Sunday, down from 4156.7MW on Saturday.

A total of 2,792.6MW of generation capacity was idle as of 6am on Sunday as a result of gas constraints, low load demand by the distribution companies and water management, compared to 2,195.1MW on Saturday.

The nation generates most of its electricity from gas-fired power plants, while output from hydropower plants makes up about 30 per cent of the total generation.

Three of the four hydropower plants saw their combined output fall by 36.66 per cent as of 6am on Sunday to 660MW from 1,042MW on Saturday.

Generation at Kainji hydropower plant declined to 279MW on Sunday from 333MW; Jebba’s output fell to 261MW from 415MW; while Shiroro’s generation level dropped to 120MW from 294MW.

The country’s biggest power station, Egbin in Lagos, saw its output decrease to 651MW as of 6am on Sunday from 821MW on Saturday.

Ten of the power plants on the national grid did not generate any megawatts of electricity as of 6am on Sunday.

The idle plants included six of those built under the National Integrated Power Project, namely Geregu II, Sapele II, Alaoji, Omotosho II, Ihovbor, and Gbarain. The others were Ibom Power, AES, ASCO and Egbin ST6.