Nigeria’s fragile electricity grid suffered another collapse on Wednesday, plunging parts of the country into blackout.
The megawatt (MW) generated dropped from 2,917.83 (MW) to 1.5 (MW) between 11 am and 12 pm.
The Nigeria National Grid X handle that gives updates on electric power distribution acrossed the nation had announced “system restoration is in progress.”
However, in a another tweet, it disclosed that aside from Ibadan Disco, other power distribution companies across the country have come down to zero megawatt.
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a notice issued via its X handle on September 10, confirmed the disruption. The utility linked the outage to a sudden loss of supply from the national grid.
“Please be informed that the power outage currently being experienced is due to a loss of supply from the national grid at 11:23 am today, affecting electricity supply across our franchise areas,” the statement read.
AEDC assured customers that efforts were underway with relevant agencies to restore supply. “Rest assured, we are working closely with the relevant stakeholders to ensure power is restored once the grid is stabilised. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” the company said, also providing customer service numbers for updates.
The incident adds to a long list of grid failures over the years. Data shows that in 2024 alone, the national grid collapsed 12 times, and more than 100 times in the past decade. Earlier this year in February, another system collapse left many Nigerians in darkness.
NERC reacts to national grid collapse
In response to the frequent breakdowns, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had in April approved six private companies and a university to generate and distribute their own electricity.
Interestingly, NERC’s July report claimed that the first quarter of 2025 recorded no “system disturbance.” “There was no incidence of system disturbance on the national grid in 2025/Q1,” the regulator stated.
