Fresh nationwide blackout as national grid collapses for the third time in one week

Millions of Nigerians have been plunged into darkness as the national electricity grid collapsed again for the third time in one week.

The grid collapse occurred early Saturday morning, with many states reporting total blackouts. This latest failure comes on the heels of two other collapses earlier in the week, further straining the already fragile power system.

Data obtained from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org), revealed that the grid recorded an unprecedented zero Megawatts (MW) as of 8:16 am today.

Data gleaned showed that all 22 generation companies (GenCos) are down as of the time of this report.

This collapse marks the eighth grid disturbance in 2024, adding to challenges that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector.

Despite the extensive effects of the blackout, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had yet to confirm the incident as at the time of this report, leaving the public and key stakeholders without information on the cause or resolution of the latest crisis.

Nigerians experienced first black out in 2024 on February 4.

The grid experienced another shutdown on March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5. On May 1, the TCN said the number of system collapses had reduced significantly in the country.

On October 14, the grid collapsed again and barely 24 hours after – October 15, Nigerians were thrown in another total blackout.