UPDATED: Blackout across Nigeria as national grid collapses

Nigerians were on Thursday morning thrown into darkness after the national grid system collapsed.

The system is operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from Osogbo, Osun State.

Some of the nation’s Distribution Companies confirmed that the grid collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, as most of their feeders are out.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) in a statement said that “a total system collapse” occurred at 12:40 a.m. on Thursday.

“This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network,” the company said in a statement signed by Emeka Ezeh, Head of Corporate Communications.

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Due to this development, the distribution company said all its interface TCN stations are out of supply, and it will be unable to provide service to customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States.

“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo,” it said.

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said, “Kindly be informed that a system collapse occurred today at 6:41 a.m. This has resulted in a total loss of supply across our network.

“We are in continuous communication with our partners at the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo. You will be updated as we get more information,” the company said in a statement posted on its X handle.

Also, Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) said, “We regret to inform you that the current power outage across our network is due to a system collapse from the national grid, which has resulted in our inability to distribute electricity to our esteemed customers.

“We are appealing to our valued customers to kindly bear with us as we monitor the situation and await power restoration from the national grid,” the company said.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) also reported the collapse.

“The management of AEDC wishes to inform its customers that the power outage currently being experienced is a result of a system failure from the national grid in the early hours of today, 14 September 2023.

“Be rest assured that we are working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid is stabilized,” the company said.

Grid Collapse

The latest collapse is coming weeks after the TCN announced that the country’s power grid had maintained uninterrupted stability for over 400 consecutive days.

The TCN had in August said the Nigerian power grid has recorded an unparalleled period of stability in the history of the power sector, operating without any major disruptions or systems collapse for an impressive span of 400 consecutive days and counting.

“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 centres for onward distribution to electricity customers nationwide,” the company said in a statement.

In recent years, the power sector has experienced many broad challenges related to electricity policy enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, gas supply, transmission system constraints, and major power sector planning shortfalls.

In 2022 alone, the country’s national grid collapsed eight times.

The General Manager, Public Affairs at the TCN, Ndidi Mbah, told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday morning that the public would soon be updated about the development.