OUT of all the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in Nigeria, only Ibadan had some form of power as at 3.30pm on Friday. While Ibadan DisCo had 10 megawatts (MW) of power, others had zero megawatt, according to the Nigeria National Grid, which provides information of the national real-time power distribution.

The nation’s electricity grid suffered a system collapse on Thursday morning, leaving large parts of the country without power in what is the first grid failure recorded in 2026. The incident has once again highlighted the persistent fragility of Africa’s largest power network.

Data show that the collapse occurred at about 11:40 a.m. Nigerian time. A review of the national distribution load profile at 1:00 p.m. revealed zero load across all electricity distribution companies (DisCos). Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Yola DisCos were all offline at the time of the check.

The outage followed a period of strong electricity demand in major cities. Prior to the collapse, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company had received 639 megawatts, while Ikeja Electric recorded a load of 630 megawatts before the system failed.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which manages the national grid, has yet to disclose the cause of the failure. Although restoration activities have commenced, there is no clear timeline for full recovery. Attempts to reach TCN officials for comment were unsuccessful as of press time.

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This latest incident extends a troubling pattern of instability in Nigeria’s power sector. In 2024 alone, the grid collapsed 9 times, disrupting economic activity and essential services for businesses, hospitals, and households across the country. These failures compound the daily power shortages faced by most of Nigeria’s more than 200 million citizens.

Nigeria’s electricity generation remains far below demand. Even under normal conditions, output typically ranges between 4,000MW and 5,000MW—well short of the estimated 30,000 megawatts needed to meet national requirements. As a result, many businesses and affluent households depend heavily on petrol and diesel generators, increasing costs and worsening environmental pollution.

More than a decade after partial privatisation, Nigeria’s power sector remains divided: generation and distribution are privately run, while transmission is controlled by the government through TCN. Industry critics argue that the transmission network is the weakest link, pointing to outdated equipment, insufficient maintenance, and chronic underinvestment as key challenges.

Firms exiting national grid

About 20 Nigerian companies exited the national electricity grid between January and September 2025, opting instead to install captive power plants with a combined output of 1,045.54 MW, data from Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said.

The NERC data further show that Pulkit Alloy and Steel Limited, NNPC Towers, Everest Pulp and Paper Limited, Sequoia International Development Ltd and Kwale Genco all secured approvals to generate captive power.

Others who also secured the appovals included: Obu Cement Company Limited (BUA) in Okpella, Edo State, CCK Electric Power Tech Company, Nigeria Pipes Limited, West African Container Terminal Nigeria Ltd, Nile University of Nigeria, , Yinson Operations & Productions West Africa Ltd and Azura Power West Africa Limited.

In August 2025, 46 entities were licensed to generate up to 289 megawatts of electricity.

In January 2025, about 250 manufacturers and academic institutions had abandoned their respective power distribution companies to generate their own electricity.

The organisations, many of whom were bulk electricity users, exited the national grid to generate reliable electricity for themselves, according to the report.

They included: SweetCo Foods Limited with 1.50MW; African Steel Mills with 20MW; Armilo Plastics, 1.13MW; Royal Engineered Stones, 4MW; West African Ceramics Limited, 10MW; Ro-Marong Nigeria Ltd, 4.40MW, and Psaltry International Company Limited, 1.10MW.

MTN Nigeria Communication Limited got approvals for 15.94MW in total; University of Abuja got 3MW; University of Calabar & Teaching Hospital was secured 7MW; University of Agriculture Michael Okpara, Umudike, 3MW; University of Maiduguri & Teaching Hospital Main Campus, 12MW; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Main Campus, 3MW; Federal University Gashuwa, Sabon Gari, 1.50MW; and Nile University of Nigeria Jabi, 10MW.

Nigerian Breweries branches in Aba, Ibadan, Enugu, and others got approval for a total of 31.36MW; the Nigerian Defence Academy secured for 2.50MW, while Quantum Paper Limited got approval for 7MW.

READ ALSO: Twenty firms exit national grid, add 1,045MW in captive power

Similarly, a total of 22 off-grid licences were issued to various firms, with a cumulative capacity of 151.214 megawatts. Golden Penny Power Limited secured licences to generate a total of 113.20MW with gas in different locations.

The NERC report showed that Daybreak Power Solutions was given nine solar grid licences for a total of 24.51MW. TIS Renewable Energy Limited obtained two licences for gas-powered plants, totalling 12MW, while Auro Nigeria Private Limited got a licence for a 1.5MW gas plant.

While gas plants accounted for 126.7MW of the off-grid plants, solar was 24.51MW. The licences were issued for off-grid generation projects across various states in Nigeria such as Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Cross River, Kaduna, Niger, and Abia, The Punch reported.

The NERC had blamed the shift from the national grid on power fluctuations and low supply. In one of its statements, NERC said grid frequency was a crucial power quality parameter that industrial customers were particularly concerned about due to the sensitivity of their heavy-duty machinery.

It stated that in industrial production assembly lines, the machines were designed to operate only within pre-set frequency tolerance limits and therefore often had a low tolerance for frequency fluctuations.

“As specified in section 10.1.2 of the Grid Code, the standard frequency for operation on the Grid is 50Hz,” it said.

It noted that the code provided that under normal circumstances, the grid can operate within a deviation of ±0.5 percent, that is, between a lower limit of 49.75Hz and an upper limit of 50.25Hz.

“Section 10.1.2 of the Grid Code further provides that in extreme circumstances, the grid may operate within a deviation of ±2.5%, i.e., system frequency may reach a lower bound stress limit of 48.75Hz and an upper bound stress limit of 51.25Hz.”

Nigeria is hard hit by poor power supply, which disrupts factories and homes. Frequent grid collapses do not help matters as they plunge homes and firms in darkness, stalling economic activities and shinking growth.