Nigeria records fourth time National grid collapse in October

On Tuesday night, the National grid experienced a partial collapse, resulting in blackouts in certain areas of the country.

This recent incident signifies the ninth grid collapse—whether partial or full—recorded in the year 2024, and the fourth occurrence within this month alone.

Data from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org) indicates that the grid’s capacity fell to 2,037.2 megawatts (MW) by 10:08 pm on Tuesday.

Power generation from key plants, including Sapele, Rivers IPP, Omotosho, Omoku, Okpai, Kainji, and Ibom Power, fell to zero megawatts, while Dadinkowa G.S reported no power output for the entirety of Tuesday.

The ongoing collapses have raised alarms about Nigeria’s energy stability, as both residential and industrial consumers struggle with inconsistent power supply.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has declared that electricity will be restored to northern Nigeria within 72 hours.

During a discussion with senators on Tuesday, Adelabu spoke about the prevalent outages impacting the region and the recent failures of the national grid.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria previously reported that, on October 22, the 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwaji-Apir transmission lines tripped, causing outages across the North-East, North-West, and parts of North-Central Nigeria.

Nafisatu Ali, the Executive Director of the Independent System Operator, confirmed that insurgents have vandalized the Shiroro-Kaduna line, a vital power source for the northern regions.

President Bola Tinubu has instructed military assistance to ensure the security of repairs.