Nigerians were plunged into several hours of darkness on Friday after the national power grid collapsed again, marking the second collapse in four weeks.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that electricity generation dropped drastically from over 4,500 megawatts to as low as 24MW by 1:00pm. Findings further showed that all 23 power generation plants connected to the national grid lost generation during the incident.
As a result, power allocation to each of the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies dropped to 0.00MW, leaving homes, businesses, and public facilities without electricity.
This incident represents the first grid collapse recorded in 2026, coming barely four weeks after a similar collapse on December 29, 2025. Restoration efforts were observed to be slow, as only 75MW had been restored to the grid as of 5:00pm on Friday.
Grid collapses often throw a majority of electricity consumers into darkness, disrupting economic activities and social life across the country.
Confirming the development, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) said the outage occurred at about 12:40pm, following the simultaneous tripping of several 330kV transmission lines.
In a preliminary statement issued on Friday, NISO said the combined incidents resulted in a total collapse of the interconnected national grid.
“The Nigerian Independent System Operator wishes to inform the public that at approximately 12:40 hours on Friday, 23 January, 2026, the national grid experienced a system-wide disturbance, which resulted in a total outage across the interconnected network,” the statement read.
According to the operator, early operational findings linked the disturbance to major faults on the high-voltage transmission backbone, described as the most critical and vulnerable segment of Nigeria’s power value chain.
“Preliminary operational reports indicate that the disturbance was associated with the simultaneous tripping of multiple 330kV transmission lines, alongside the disconnection of some grid-connected generating units. These events collectively contributed to the system’s collapse,” NISO added.
NISO disclosed that restoration activities commenced about 35 minutes later, at approximately 1:15pm, in line with established grid recovery procedures.
As of the latest update, electricity supply had been restored to Abuja, Osogbo, Benin, Onitsha, Sakete, Jebba, Kainji, Shiroro, and parts of Lagos, while restoration efforts continued progressively in other parts of the country.
“The full restoration and stabilisation of the grid remains a top operational priority,” the statement noted.
The system operator also confirmed that a detailed investigation into the root and contributory causes of the disturbance was ongoing, assuring Nigerians that findings would inform corrective measures to prevent a recurrence.
Despite huge investments in the power sector, reports by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)indicate that the national grid has collapsed over 100 times in the last 10 years.
Reacting to the development, the convener of PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, urged the Federal Government to bring bulk electricity users back to the national grid.
“We have allowed big consumers to exit the national grid, shifting the burden of sustaining it to residential consumers. This makes tariffs more expensive while producers resort to alternative, costlier energy sources,” he said.
Adegbemle stressed that funds currently spent by manufacturers on alternative energy should be redirected into the national grid to improve stability and reduce electricity costs nationwide.
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