By Olatunbosun Obafemi
Nigeria’s national electricity grid suffered another collapse on Wednesday, sparking widespread outages and fresh criticism from citizens.
Data from the Independent System Operator (ISO) revealed that power generation dropped drastically from 2,917.83 megawatts (MW) at 11:00 a.m. to just 1.5 MW by 12 noon. The sharp decline effectively shut down electricity supply across much of the country.
Confirming the incident, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) issued a statement to customers, citing the loss of supply from the national grid at exactly 11:23 a.m. “Please be informed that the power outage currently being experienced is due to a loss of supply from the national grid at 11:23 hrs today, affecting electricity supply across our franchise areas,” the company said. It added that efforts were underway with relevant stakeholders to restore supply as soon as stability was achieved.
The development quickly trended on social media platforms, where frustrated Nigerians expressed anger over the recurring grid failures. Many questioned the reliability of the country’s power infrastructure, which has collapsed multiple times this year despite ongoing reforms in the sector.
Grid instability has long been a major challenge for Nigeria’s electricity system, which relies heavily on a fragile network of aging infrastructure. Each collapse not only disrupts businesses and households but also further undermines public confidence in the sector’s ability to deliver consistent power.
As of press time, supply had yet to be fully restored in some parts of the country, while distribution companies urged customers to remain patient.
