According to reports from the Independent System Operator (ISO), the grid’s generation capacity plummeted sharply from 2,917.83 MW to just 1.5 MW between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.

The widespread failure knocked power supply to near-zero across nearly all distribution company zones nationwide, with Ibadan DisCo being the only exception, managing about 20 MW.

The grid collapse has become a recurring nightmare. This marks the third collapse in 2025 alone, reigniting concerns over the reliability and resilience of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

Restoration Efforts Underway

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed that restoration efforts began shortly after collapse. By 3:00 p.m., partial power was restored to parts of Abuja, Dawaki, and Zone 7 Dutse, among others.

Furthermore, as of late afternoon, about 495 MW had been returned to several distribution zones:

• Abuja: 150 MW
• Benin: 40 MW
• Eko (Lagos): 80 MW
• Enugu: 40 MW
• Ibadan: 50 MW
• Ikeja: 80 MW
• Kano: 35 MW
• Kaduna: 25 MW

Despite these efforts, full grid normalization remains elusive, as numerous states, including Port Harcourt, Jos, and Yola, continued to experience complete outages as of press time.

Stakeholder Responses

Electricity distribution companies issued urgent notices to residents, acknowledging the widespread outage and promising updates.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) blamed the blackout on a loss of supply from the national grid and affirmed collaboration with relevant agencies to restore power promptly.

Energy analysts warn that unless lasting structural improvements are made, the frequency of these grid failures will continue to undermine economic stability and public confidence.

Nigerians, especially businesses, hospitals, and educational institutions, were left to rely heavily on costly alternative power sources such as diesel generators, solar setups, or inverters during the outage.

Summary Table

What This Means

This latest blackout is not isolated. It underscores deep-rooted vulnerabilities within Nigeria’s power sector, primarily due to aging infrastructure, inadequate investment into generation and transmission, and technical constraints in handling sudden system disturbances.

In the Short Term:

• Households and businesses incur higher costs due to reliance on generators.
• Economic activity slows, especially in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and education.

In the Long Term:

• The grid’s instability raises questions about the effectiveness of recent reforms and privatization efforts.
• Calls for grid diversification, maintenance overhaul, and decentralised energy systems are becoming louder and more urgent.

Homes and businesses were again left without public power supply as a result of the development.

Vanguard reported data from the National System Operator (NSO) showed that as at 5pm, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), was still battling to restore the grid as supply rose to 246MW with Afam VI (1.6MW), Ibom Power (70MW), Olorunsogo Plant (58.6MW), Omotosho Plant (67.9MW), and Trans-Amadi (47.7MW), the plants on the grid.

This is the third collapse of the grid in less than a week after 421 days of stability.

While it was unclear what caused the latest grid collapse, a source quoted by Vanguard said that the incidences of the past few days need to be thoroughly investigated.

“What is happening to the grid is unusual. It bordering on sabotage and deliberate attempt to discredit the effort by the government to improve power supply”, the source who declined to be named added.

Few days ago, Engineer Sule Abdulaziz, the Managing Director of TCN had revealed that fixing damaged equipment at the Birnin Kebbi Transmission Station would cost about $4 million.

The station was destroyed by a fire incident in the early hours of Friday disrupting power supply to Kebbi and Sokoto states.

Two major transformers, 90 MVA and 60MVA as well as the control room were destroyed in the incident.

[Vanguard]