Again, National Grid Collapses as Power Generation Drops to 24MW

The national power grid collapsed again on Wednesday, plunging parts of the country into darkness and disrupting electricity supply to millions of homes and businesses.

Checks by PUNCH revealed that power generation fell sharply from over 4,500 megawatts to as low as 24 megawatts as of 1:30pm.

Findings showed that all 23 power generation companies connected to the grid lost output during the incident, leading to zero electricity allocation to the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies.

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the collapse had yet to be officially disclosed, with the Transmission Company of Nigeria not issuing a detailed statement on the development.

The latest incident is the first recorded grid collapse in 2026 and comes barely weeks after a similar system failure on December 29, 2025, which also triggered widespread power outages nationwide.

Economic Confidential reports that repeated grid collapses in recent years have been linked to technical faults, poor maintenance of transmission infrastructure, and instability in power generation.

Power sector stakeholders have consistently urged the Federal Government and industry operators to put in place stronger safeguards and contingency measures to stem the recurring failures.

While consumers await an official explanation, the latest collapse has once again raised concerns about the fragility of Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure and its capacity to meet the country’s growing demand for reliable power supply.