Nigeria’s fragile power system suffered yet another collapse yesterday, with real-time data from the national grid showing electricity generation plunging to an alarming 39 megawatts (MW).
However, it has been fully restored and the electricity supply returned to normal, according to the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Chinyere Almona, expressed grave concern over the second collapse within five days, and urged the Federal government to order a forensic audit of the incidents.
The management of NISO, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, while giving an update on the partial system disturbance on the national grid, said that at approximately 10.48 a.m. yesterday, the national grid experienced a voltage disturbance, which originated from the Gombe Transmission Substation.
It said the voltage disturbance rapidly propagated across the network, affecting Jebba, Kainji, and subsequently Ayede transmission substations.
”The event was accompanied by the tripping of some transmission lines and generating units, resulting in a partial system collapse. Appropriate corrective actions were immediately implemented to stabilise the system and restore normal operations.
”Restoration, which began about 11.11 a.m., has since been completed,” NISO said. The system operator said that the incident only affected part of the grid, adding that it was not a total collapse as reported by some media organisations.
The second grid collapse this year, which caused a blackout for a country of over 200 million people, comes as data published on NISO’s platform (niggrid.org) showed that as of 11:00 a.m., only one generation company, Delta Power Station, was producing electricity, accounting for the entire 39MW on the grid.
All other major power plants, including Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Kainji, Jebba, Azura-Edo, Olorunsogo and multiple NIPP plants, were offline at the time.
The incident underscores persistent structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s electricity network despite years of reform, privatisation and repeated assurances of improvement.
At 39MW, national generation fell far below even emergency operational thresholds. For context, Nigeria’s peak electricity demand is estimated at over 20,000MW, while average grid supply typically ranges between 3,500MW and 5,000MW on a good day.
Simultaneously, distribution load allocation figures indicated that power supply to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) nationwide fell to 0.00MW, confirming a widespread grid failure.
The first national grid collapse this year happened on Friday, January 23, 2026, with real-time data showing total generation falling to 0.00 megawatts, plunging large parts of the country into darkness. Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), in a notice to customers, attributed the blackout to a system disturbance.
“Kindly be informed that there was a system collapse at 10.48 hours, which has resulted in a loss of power supply across our network,” the Disco said, adding that restoration efforts were ongoing in collaboration with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
This recurrence, Almona noted, underscores deep structural and operational weaknesses in the power transmission system and poses a direct threat to manufacturers, MSMEs and Nigeria’s overall business environment at a critical moment when the economy is expected to move from crisis management and stabilisation (2023–2025) into a consolidation phase in 2026.
Many industrial areas, as well as households, were yet to receive power after the first grid collapse last week, before this second collapse, plunging them further into uncertainty and economic losses.
Based on recent patterns and in the absence of urgent structural fixes, she estimated that Nigeria could experience tens of grid collapses this year under this “business-as-usual” scenario.
With immediate reforms, system upgrades and strict operational discipline, however, she said the figure could be reduced to zero incidents, moving the country closer to grid reliability benchmarks required for economic consolidation.
The LCCI DG further noted that repeated grid failures impose severe costs on businesses through lost production hours, damaged equipment, increased reliance on self-generation, higher operating expenses and reduced competitiveness.
These disruptions, she added, weaken investor confidence, worsen inflationary pressures and undermine the credibility of economic reforms. She called on the Federal Government to take a decisive and transparent position by instituting an independent forensic audit of the national grid covering transmission infrastructure integrity, system protection schemes, operational protocols and governance of grid management. The findings, she said, should form a critical part of a grid performance system reform in the short term.
