Nigeria Faces Another Nationwide Blackout

Nigeria has once again plunged into darkness as the national electricity grid collapsed, marking the fifth blackout in 2024.

According to various electricity distribution companies, their feeders went inactive, leading to widespread power outages throughout the country.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) revealed that the grid collapse occurred around 1:30 PM on Monday, causing power generation to plummet from 3,241 megawatts to just 1,255 megawatts within a short hour.

As of this report, out of the 21 power plants connected to the grid, five generation companies are offline, while 17 are still producing electricity.

The TCN has not yet provided any explanation for this latest collapse.

Confirming the situation, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) posted on X that the grid experienced a collapse at around 2:30 PM.

They stated, “We understand that some of our customers are still without power due to a system failure from the national grid at 2:55 PM today, 5th August 2024.”

AEDC reassured customers that efforts are underway to restore power to the affected areas as quickly as possible.

This recent blackout marks the fifth time the grid has collapsed this year. The first blackout occurred on February 4, followed by another on March 28, then again on April 15, and one more in May.

According to Ndidi Mbah, the spokesperson for TCN, there has been a significant decline in grid disturbances over the last five years, with 20 system collapses recorded from 2020 to May 1, in comparison to 85 between 2015 and 2019.

On April 18, the commission introduced a new digital system called the Generation Dip/Loss Detection System (GLDS) to help detect and respond to sudden drops in power generation more quickly.