Minister Promises Grid Restoration in 72 Hours Amid TCN-IKEDC Spat

​ABUJA — Electricity consumers across several parts of the country, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, can expect significant improvements in power supply within the next 48 to 72 hours.

​The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, gave the assurance following widespread blackouts that have left households and businesses grappling with severe heat and operational disruptions. The current crisis has also exposed underlying friction between sector operators over the root causes of the grid instability.

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​Root Causes of the Nationwide Outages

​According to the Ministry of Power, the recent dip in generation capacity stems from a combination of scheduled maintenance, fuel shortages, and infrastructure sabotage:

• ​Egbin Power Station Maintenance: Planned maintenance activities at Nigeria’s largest thermal power generating station in Lagos—which accounts for roughly 16% of the national grid’s total supply—have temporarily curtailed output.
• ​Gas Constraints and Low Hydro Output: Thermal stations have faced severe gas supply limitations, compounding a seasonal reduction in output from major hydropower plants.
• ​Transmission Line Sabotage: Critical transmission corridors have been subjected to vandalism, restricting the deployment of alternative routing loops to channel power to high-demand zones like Lagos.
• ​TCN’s Position: The transmission agency maintained that it cannot transmit energy that has not been generated(start_span)TCN has urged distribution companies to rely strictly on verified data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) when communicating supply updates to the public, warning against statements that could erode consumer confidence.