Nigeria faced another wave of electricity shortages on Saturday as the national power grid collapsed, leaving states across the country in darkness with generation levels plummeting to a dismal 70.60 megawatts.
This marked the seventh grid failure in 2024, highlighting the persistent challenges in Nigeria’s energy sector. Earlier in the day, electricity production had briefly peaked at 3,976.24 megawatts before sharply dropping to 1,075.08 megawatts by 3 pm, and subsequently crashing to the unprecedented low later in the afternoon.
President Bola Tinubu, addressing stakeholders during the inauguration of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council in Abuja, decried the nation’s ongoing energy crisis, describing Nigeria’s current electricity generation of 4.5 gigawatts as inadequate.
Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) such as the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the outage, citing complete service disruptions across several states including Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
In response to the collapse, DisCos including Kaduna and Kano expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to customers and assured them of swift restoration once the grid stabilizes. The recurring grid collapses continue to disrupt daily life and economic activities, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s energy challenges.
Philips Babatunde