Nigeria’s national power grid on Friday recorded its first collapse of 2026, barely weeks after a similar incident on December 29, 2025, which plunged large parts of the country into darkness.
Electricity generation reportedly fell sharply from over 4,500 megawatts to as low as 24 megawatts by about 1:30 p.m., according to industry sources. All 23 power generation plants connected to the grid were said to have lost output during the incident, leading to zero power allocation to the 11 electricity distribution companies nationwide.
Grid collapses in the country have often been linked to a combination of technical faults, poor maintenance of transmission infrastructure, and fluctuations in generation capacity.
As of the time of filing this report, the immediate cause of the latest collapse had yet to be ascertained, while officials of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had not issued a detailed statement on the development.
However, electricity distribution companies have begun notifying customers of recovery efforts. In a notice to its customers, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company said the gradual restoration of power supply had commenced.
The incident has once again highlighted the persistent challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector, amid growing concerns over the frequency of grid failures and their impact on economic activities and daily life across the country.
