Complete electricity blackout in Nigeria as grid collapses

This week, Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies reported “a total system collapse, which led to a widespread blackouts across Africa’s biggest economy.

The minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, revealed that it was fire that caused an explosion on a transmission line connecting the Kainji and Jebba power plants in north central Niger state, tripping the grid. In a statement, Adelabu said: “The fire has been fully arrested and over half of the connections are now up and the rest will be fully restored in no time.”

Power generation fell to 0MW in the early hours and had risen to 273MW by 10.30am GMT (12.30pm SAST), still well below the daily average of 4.1GW, data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) showed.

A major oil and gas producer are forcing households and businesses to use diesel and petrol generators because grid power supply is erratic in Nigeria.

An executive at technology firm Bayelsa Tech Hub in the southern oil-producing Bayelsa state, Dickcion Bolodeku, noted that that President Bola Tinubu removed a subsidy on fuel in May, and said: “The cost of fuelling a generator is eating into our finances and, as a tech business that relies on power, this is a heavy burden to bear.”

Despite enduring power cuts on an almost daily basis in Lagos, some people were surprised at the nationwide blackout. Lagos-based Eko Electricity Distribution Company, one of the biggest, said grid power was being restored.