Nigerians in darkness as national grid collapses again

Nigerians were plunged into darkness on Monday afternoon following another collapse of the national electricity grid, with power supply across most parts of the country dropping to near zero.

Distribution load figures released at 3:12 p.m. on December 29, 2025, showed that electricity supply to the country’s power distribution companies fell drastically, indicating a widespread system failure.

Data from the Distribution Companies (DisCos) revealed that only two operators received electricity at the time of the collapse. Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company recorded a load of 30 megawatts (MW), while Abuja Electricity Distribution Company received 20 MW.

All other DisCos were allocated zero megawatts. Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola electricity distribution companies all recorded 0 MW, pointing to a nationwide outage affecting major cities and regions.

In total, electricity distributed nationwide stood at just 50 MW, far below normal operating levels and grossly insufficient to sustain power supply to homes, businesses and critical services across the country.

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The latest incident adds to a series of grid collapses recorded in recent years, which have often resulted in nationwide blackouts and prolonged efforts to restore electricity supply. The recurring failures have continued to raise concerns about the fragility of Nigeria’s power infrastructure and the reliability of the national grid.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Grid (NNG) said restoration efforts were already in progress following the collapse.

However, as of the time of filing this report, neither the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) nor the Federal Ministry of Power had issued an official statement explaining the cause of the collapse or providing a clear timeline for the restoration of power supply.