Nigeria is facing yet another total blackout as the national power grid has collapsed for the third time in just one week. This latest collapse, which occurred early on Saturday morning, has left many states in darkness, plunging businesses and households into deeper frustration over the nation’s unreliable electricity supply.
The collapse was confirmed by data from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal, which showed that the grid recorded zero megawatts (MW) as of 9:20 am. This means that no electricity was being transmitted to any of the country’s eleven distribution companies (DisCos).
For many Nigerians, this news is not just about a loss of power; it is a reminder of the daily struggle to access a stable electricity supply. The cost of fuel is high, and with generators being the only backup option, businesses are left with little choice but to bear the increasing burden of self-powering their operations.
“This is beyond frustrating,” said a business executive in Lagos. “We are barely surviving with the high cost of diesel. Now, with these constant grid failures, it’s becoming impossible to keep our doors open.”
This marks the eighth time the national grid has failed this year, with three collapses happening in just the past week. The frequency of these failures has raised alarms among energy experts and ordinary citizens alike, with many questioning the long-term stability of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
Despite efforts to restore power, including work by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), there has been no official statement on the cause of the collapse. The silence from TCN has only added to the growing sense of frustration. Many Nigerians are now wondering whether there is any hope for a lasting solution to the nation’s electricity crisis.
The latest grid collapse is just one more chapter in Nigeria’s long and troubled history with electricity generation and distribution. Nigeria’s power sector was privatized in November 2013, with the goal of improving efficiency and increasing access to electricity across the country. However, the results have been far from satisfactory.
The government privatized power generation and the eleven DisCos, while retaining ownership of the transmission company. The idea was that private companies would be more effective in managing power supply, while the state-run Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) would oversee the movement of electricity across the country.
However, even with these changes, the national grid has remained fragile. Frequent collapses have continued to disrupt power supply, leaving many Nigerians to wonder if the privatization effort has truly improved the situation.
