MANY major cities in Nigeria are currently experiencing blackouts due to a complete failure of the national electricity grid.
The grid collapsed on Friday, January 23, marking the first such incident was recorded in 2026.
The Independent System Operator (NISO) said the power generation fell to zero megawatts, while electricity supply to all 11 distribution companies dropped completely by about 1 p.m.
The affected distribution firms include Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja and Yola, all of which recorded zero load allocation at the time of the collapse.
The latest incident comes months after multiple grid failures recorded in 2025, the most recent of which occurred on December 29, underscoring persistent challenges in the country’s power sector despite efforts to stabilise the system.
These breakdowns have persisted despite ongoing efforts to strengthen and expand the country’s power infrastructure.
Earlier, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) announced the restoration of an additional 450 megawatts to the national grid following the completion of maintenance work at the Geregu National Integrated Power Project plant.
In another move aimed at improving system stability, NISO disclosed that on November 9, 2025, it collaborated with the West African Power Pool Information and Coordination Centre to carry out a synchronisation test linking Nigeria’s grid with the broader West African electricity network.
An earlier report by The ICIR shows that there is no end in sight to Nigeria’s grid collapse, as a report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed unresolved grid weaknesses.
The regulator, in the report, explained that the grid frequency performance also remained unstable, oscillating between 49.46Hz and 50.69Hz—well outside the prescribed 49.75–50.25Hz range.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.