Nigeria in darkness as national grid collapses again, eight times in 2024

Nigeria’s electricity national grid has collapsed once more, throwing the country into yet another blackout.
This latest collapse follows several similar incidents in October, despite the Federal Government’s assurances of a permanent solution to the recurring issue.

As of 2:35 PM, hourly generation data indicated that none of the Power Generation Companies were supplying a single megawatt

This marks the eighth grid collapse this year and the first in November. October alone saw three separate failures, prompting the federal government to order a public inquiry into the root causes of the frequent collapses.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has yet to confirm this incident, leaving Nigerians uncertain about the cause of the latest blackout.

In October Nigeria’s national grid collapsed 3 times in a month, triggering a nationwide blackout.

READ ALSO: Another grid collapse leave nine Northern states in darkness

Various distribution companies (DisCos) confirmed the latest collapse through various circulars.

Following the incident, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, issued a statement that a public hearing would be carried out to investigate the reason for the collapse.

On his part, the Minister of Power, said the collapse of the national grid is inevitable adding that anything can contribute to the tripping of the transmission line resulting in the failure of the entire system.

Adelabu however disclosed that the government is working on a system that will reduce the grid collapse.

So far, the grid has collapsed eight different times this year, with the failure taking place multiple times in a month.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: TCN restores 90% of substations after seventh grid collapse in 2024

Nigeria’s electricity sector continues to grapple with the recurring challenges of an unstable national grid, frequently resulting in widespread blackouts.E

Earlier this week, two grid collapses occurred within a span of 24 hours. By October 2024, the grid had experienced seven collapses, significantly disrupting power supply nationwide and pushing businesses to rely on self-powered generators to maintain operations.

In November 2013, the federal government privatized power generation and the 11 distribution companies while retaining ownership of the transmission company to boost efficiency in the sector.

However, grid failures have persisted, sparking calls for further reforms.

Some stakeholders now advocate for the privatization of the grid system and the introduction of state-level power transmission to alleviate pressure on the national grid and enhance stability.