Nigeria’s national power grid experienced another disruption yesterday, the second in four days, leading to widespread outages across the country and reigniting concerns over the economic cost of persistent power inility. The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) described the incident as a partial system disturbance, not a total grid collapse.
The disruption occurred at about 10:48am, leaving electricity distribution companies (DisCos) without load allocation and plunging many parts of the country into darkness. System data showed that power generation, which exceeded 4,000 megawatts (MW) the previous day, dropped sharply, with all 12 DisCos initially recording zero allocation.
In a statement, NISO explained that the disturbance originated from the Gombe Transmission Substation and quickly spread to Jebba, Kainji and Ayede transmission substations. The resulting voltage disturbance caused several transmission lines and generating units to trip, leading to a partial system collapse.
NISO said corrective measures were immediately implemented, with restoration beginning around 11:11am and later completed. “The national grid has been fully restored and electricity supply across the affected areas has since returned to normal,” the system operator stated.
However, as of 4:56pm, power generation was still recovering, with about 1,417MW supplied by 10 generation companies. Major plants such as Egbin Power, Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba hydropower stations were not fully restored at the time. Azura Edo Independent Power Plant and Delta Power were the highest contributors during the recovery phase.
Several DisCos, including Abuja, Port Harcourt and Eko DisCos, confirmed the outage and assured customers that restoration efforts were ongoing.
Reacting, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) warned that repeated grid failures continue to undermine business productivity and economic growth. The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise also said recurring outages erode investor confidence and raise operating costs, stressing that reliable electricity is critical for economic development.
Stakeholders insist that beyond ongoing reforms, sustained investment, decentralisation and stronger accountability are required to curb recurring grid disturbances.
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