Nationwide Blackout As National Grid Collapses Again

The national grid experienced another collapse today, Monday, October 14, 2024, marking the sixth time Nigerians have been plugged into total darkness.

According to data obtained from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org), between 7:00 pm and the time of filing this report, the grid recorded an unprecedented zero Megawatts (MW).

Data gleaned showed that all 22 generation companies (GenCos) are down as of the time of this report.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the grid collapse in a statement on Monday evening.

The EEDC informed its customers “of a general system collapse that occurred at 18:48 hours today, 14th October 2024,” saying this has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the EEDC network.

“Consequently, due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our 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,” the EEDC stated in the statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh.

The Abuja Disco also said, “Dear Valued Customer, Please be informed that the power outage being experienced is due to a system failure from the national grid at 6:58 pm today, affecting the power supply to our franchise areas.

“Rest assured, we are working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid is stabilized. Thank you for your understanding.”

This collapse marks the sixth grid disturbance in 2024, adding to challenges that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector.

Despite the widespread impact of the blackout, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had not stated to confirm the occurrence, leaving the public and stakeholders in the dark about the source and resolution of the newest crisis.

Recall that on February 4, 2024, Nigeria recorded its first blackout in 2024 as the national power grid collapsed at around 11:51 AM, as the TCN-operated grid went down. As a result, the system’s capacity dropped from 2,407 megawatts to just 31MW by midday and to zero by 1 PM.

On August 5, the country recorded its fifth blackout of the year.