WorldStage– Nigeria’s national electricity grid suffered another severe collapse on Monday afternoon, causing power generation to plunge from a peak of 3,840 megawatts (MW) to a critical low of 476.70MW.
The sudden and sharp drop left millions of consumers and businesses across major parts of the country in total darkness.
According to operational data from the Independent System Operator (ISO), a branch of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the system disturbance occurred around 1:00 PM, triggering widespread blackouts across various distribution networks.
Prior to the incident, the grid had maintained a relatively stable supply of nearly 3,900MW earlier in the morning. However, the unexpected loss of over 3,300MW within a short window severely weakened the system stability, forcing several major power-generating plants off the grid.
As of 3:00 PM on Monday, only a fraction of the nation’s generation companies were producing electricity, with many major thermal and hydro stations reporting zero output.
The resulting power outage triggered immediate reactions from Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) across the country.
In separate statements to their customers, regional distributors – including Eko DisCo, Ikeja Electric, and Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) – confirmed that the loss of supply to their feeders was a direct result of the national grid failure.
They appealed for patience while technical teams from TCN worked tirelessly to isolate the fault and restore transmission.
National grid collapses remain a persistent challenge for Nigeria’s energy sector as the country’s power infrastructure frequently battles systemic vulnerabilities, including gas supply shortages to thermal plants, obsolete transmission equipment, and sudden voltage fluctuations.
Industry experts have repeatedly called for holistic reforms, decentralization of the grid, and increased investment in alternative energy sources to mitigate these recurring collapses, which disrupt economic activities and increase the operational costs of running diesel generators for local businesses.
While gradual restoration efforts commenced later on Monday evening, many areas experienced prolonged delays before normal supply returned.
TCN has launched a full investigation to determine the exact cause of the afternoon’s system failure, promising to implement stricter measures to safeguard grid stability moving forward.
