Nigeria was plunged into darkness as the national grid experienced a catastrophic collapse, leading to a drastic reduction in power generation to a mere 59.9 megawatts (MW).
The collapse, which occurred around noon on Sunday, left citizens grappling with a lack of electricity across the nation.
Data retrieved from the Federal Ministry of Power revealed a stark decline in electricity generation, plummeting from 2,658.75MW at 11 am to a mere 59.9MW by noon.
The loss of bulk power supply from the grid left vast regions in the country, including Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states, engulfed in darkness.
Confirming the severity of the situation, power distribution companies attributed the outage to the collapse of the national grid managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, a critical agency under the Federal Government’s purview.
Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc released a public notice acknowledging the system failure from the national grid, highlighting the widespread impact of the outage across various regions.
Despite assurances from power authorities, customers were left in uncertainty, awaiting the restoration of electricity supply.
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, issued a statement addressing the loss of bulk power supply and assured affected customers of prompt restoration once supply was received at distribution centers.
The grid’s collapse underscores the persistent challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector, despite ongoing efforts to address issues of grid stability and infrastructure development.
As the nation grapples with the aftermath of the outage, urgent measures are required to prevent future occurrences and ensure a reliable power supply for citizens nationwide.