Many parts of the country was on Saturday again left without electricity power supply as the nation’s dried again collapsed.
This makes it the third time this week, and eight time time this year, that the grid has been reported to have collapsed throwing citizens into darkness.
The Nigerian System Operator’s portal reported zero megawatts of electricity generation as of 9:20 a.m., exacerbating the country’s power woes.
This latest collapse has intensified frustrations among businesses, households and critical infrastructure, already reeling from the nation’s unreliable and insufficient electricity supply. The high cost and unavailability of fuel have compounded the suffering.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had yet to confirm the incident or provide information on its cause or resolution, leaving stakeholders in the dark.
Nigeria’s power sector has long been plagued by challenges. On February 4, 2024, the national grid collapsed at 11:51 a.m., with capacity plummeting from 2,407 megawatts to 31MW by noon and shutting down completely by 1 p.m.
Previous grid collapses occurred on October 14 and 15, 2024, with partial restoration of power. The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company received 30MW, and Benin Electricity Distribution Company received 20MW.
TCN Managing Director Sule Abdulaziz promised transmission capacity would reach 6,000 MW by year-end, but Saturday’s collapse underscores the sector’s ongoing struggles.
As Nigeria struggles to stabilize its power supply, concerns mount over electricity access costs. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) 240% tariff hike in April 2024 sparked outrage, though it was later reduced to ₦206.8/kWh.