Nigeria was thrown into another nationwide power outage on Friday as the national electricity grid collapsed, plunging power generation to zero and raising fears of a widespread blackout across the country.
Data obtained from the Nigerian Independent System Operator, NISO, showed that electricity generation dropped to zero megawatts at about 1:00 p.m., marking the first total system collapse of the grid in 2026.
The data also revealed that load allocation to all the 11 electricity distribution companies, DisCos, fell to zero megawatts at the same time.
The affected DisCos include Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja and Yola.
The latest collapse comes despite repeated assurances by authorities that efforts are ongoing to stabilise and expand the national grid.
Kano Times reports that the power grid recorded several collapses in 2025, with the last incident occurring on December 29.
The repeated system failures have persisted even as the Federal Government and power sector agencies embark on various upgrade projects to improve grid capacity and reliability.
Recall that the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, had earlier announced the restoration of an additional 450 megawatts to the national grid following the completion of scheduled maintenance on the Geregu National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, plant.
Similarly, NISO had, on November 9, 2025, disclosed a partnership with the West African Power Pool Information and Coordination Centre, WAPP-ICC, to carry out a synchronisation test between Nigeria’s grid and the broader West African power network.
