Nigeria’s fragile electricity sector suffered another devastating blow overnight as the national grid collapsed, plunging multiple states — including the Federal Capital Territory — into darkness.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed the outage in a statement on Wednesday, blaming a “sudden system disturbance” for the crash that began at 11:23 p.m. Engineers were still battling to restore supply as of Thursday morning, with hydropower stations in Niger and Benue rivers gradually picking up the load.
This marks at least the fifth nationwide collapse in 2025, underscoring the vulnerability of a grid that supplies power to more than 200 million people. Electricity consumers were once again left stranded, with businesses rushing to diesel generators and households forced into darkness.
“How many more times must Nigerians suffer these blackouts?” asked energy analyst Kunle Adesina. “The system is outdated, underfunded, and poorly managed. Oversight has been weak for years, and promises of reform ring hollow.”
The outage comes amid mounting frustration with high tariffs, persistent fuel shortages, and the rising cost of diesel and petrol. In parts of Lagos and Port Harcourt, fuel prices hit ₦1,200 per litre on the black market after panic buying followed news of the grid crash.
Critics have accused the government of neglecting investment in transmission infrastructure while pursuing politically-driven projects. Civil society groups argue that oversight agencies, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), have failed to hold operators accountable for repeated system failures.
The incident adds to broader questions about the administration’s ability to deliver on promises of energy reform. President Bola Tinubu’s government had vowed to stabilise the grid by 2024 through new investments and private partnerships, but the repeated collapses in 2025 have eroded confidence.
Nigeria generates roughly 12,000 MW of power but struggles to deliver more than 4,000 MW to the grid due to transmission bottlenecks, vandalism, and technical faults. For comparison, South Africa, with one-third of Nigeria’s population, generates more than twice the effective capacity despite its own power crisis.
Business groups warned that unless urgent action is taken, blackouts will continue to undermine industrial productivity, digital growth, and investor confidence.
“Every collapse costs Nigeria billions in lost output,” said the Lagos Chamber of Commerce in a statement. “Manufacturers cannot plan production, small businesses cannot operate, and ordinary citizens are punished daily.”
As lights flickered back in Abuja and parts of Kaduna on Thursday morning, questions remained unanswered: who is responsible, and when will Nigerians finally enjoy reliable electricity?
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