Nigeria Plunges Into Darkness For Hours After National Electricity Grid Collapses

Nigerians witnessed a nationwide blackout for nearly five hours after the country's electricity grid collapsed Monday. Power was restored later.

"The grid experienced a collapse today. Presently, it (supply) has been restored except for the Jos Axis, which will soon have supply within the hour. The collapse happened by 13.49 this afternoon. It is now fully restored by 18.51," said Ndidi Mbah, a spokesperson for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Premium Times reported.

In September, a power blackout hit Nigeria for almost 10 hours after the electricity grid collapsed because of a fire incident. A month before that, TCN had celebrated uninterrupted power supply for over 400 consecutive days.

"This milestone signifies a remarkable advancement in the nation's efforts at strengthening its power infrastructure and ensuring a reliable and dependable electricity supply to distribution load centers for onward distribution to electricity customers nationwide," TCN said at that time.

According to data available on the electricity distribution company's website, the national grid has collapsed 138 times in the last decade. Nigerians have experienced blackouts eight times last year and two times this year.

"From independent assessment which started last year and up to this year, the forum was able to confirm the various initiatives TCN deployed to stabilize the grid, including the use of the Internet of Things and the deployment of the stopgap system as a placeholder for a smart grid system," said Michael Okoh, convener of Nigerian Power Consumers Forum (NPCF), Punch reported.

Earlier this year, the federal government disconnected some power firms from the national grid for not following the electricity market rules. TCN said in April that it had issued warnings to erring market participants and given them time to comply with the market rules.

Frequent blackouts happen in the country due to various reasons, including fuel shortages for power generation, inadequate infrastructure, unsatisfactory maintenance of power facilities and illegal tapping of electricity.

On Monday, TCN revealed that vandals attacked a transmission line, affecting the federal capital territory of Gwagwalada and the Kukwaba district.

"The vandalization of the line is suspected to have taken place about 1 am on Sunday, December 10th, 2023. When bulk power supply on the line was cut off, necessitating an early morning investigation by TCN linesmen. Investigations revealed a vandalized portion on the line route," TCN wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.