THE Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC) has confirmed that Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, September 14, at about 6:41 a.m.

The EEDC, one of the distribution companies (DisCos), confirmed this in a tweet, “Notice of Total System Collapse’ shared on its handle and signed by its head of corporate communications, Emeka Ezeh.

According to Ezeh, the grid was restored to around 273 megawatts at about 4 a.m. and went up to 598:50 megawatts before crashing again to 1.60MW at 7 a.m.

“A total system collapse occurred at 12:40 a.m. today, September 14 2023. This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network.

“Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide service to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States,” he said.

Ezeh added that the EEDC awaited detailed information on the collapse and supply restoration from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo.

With the collapse, many Nigerians will further be without grid electricity as the electricity supply in the country has been epileptic, and the grid is collapsing month after month.

The ICIR reports that the Nigerian power sector has been going through numerous challenges despite privatisation, with its value chain of generation, transmission and distribution accessing many interventions from the World Bank.

The federal government has spent more than N1.6 trillion intervening in the power sector, post-privatisation, due to illiquidity in the industry, The ICIR reported.

Amidst the perennial collapse of the national grid, many households and businesses are still faced with estimated billing, paying for the bills they did not consume.

Calls by stakeholders in the industry to have every household and business metered in a privatised electricity market have continued to hit the rock.

Data obtained from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator, the semi-autonomous arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), showed that Afam VI, Dadinkowa, Ibom Power, Jebba, Olorunsogo generated 0.70MW, 0.00MW, 32.90MW, 240MW and zero respectively, the Vanguard reported.

While the system, managed by TCN, initially collapsed at 12:40 a.m. midnight and was in the restoration process, the grid operated from Osogbo in Osun State went down again at 6:41 a.m., crashing to 1.60 megawatts, the Guardian also reported.

Meanwhile, the minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, promised Nigerians an improved power supply nationwide soon.

The minister was quoted to have said, “Within the next six months, there would be a major addition to the national grid, in terms of the hydropower plant, that is, the Zungeru 700mw in Niger State that is about to be completed. This will be the biggest one in sub-Saharan Africa when completed.

“The Kainji Dam that we all grew up to know supplies about 460mw, Shiroro Dam supplies about 520mw. I will do everything to ensure that the Zungeru Power Plant is inaugurated and adds 700mw to the national grid.”