Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy experienced another round of nationwide blackouts on Sunday as its power grid collapsed for the first time in 2024.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which operates the national grid, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying it occurred at 11:51 a.m. local time and affected all parts of the country.
“The system collapse was triggered by a sudden drop in system frequency to 47.21Hz. This is below the operational frequency of 49.75Hz and 50.25Hz,” the statement said.
The TCN said it was working to restore power supply as soon as possible and appealed for patience from electricity consumers.
The cause of the frequency drop was not immediately clear, but the TCN said it was investigating the incident.
The grid collapse plunged millions of Nigerians into darkness, disrupting businesses, services, and daily activities that depend on electricity.
Many Nigerians took to social media to express their frustration and anger over the recurrent power outages that have plagued the country for decades.
Some blamed the government for failing to invest in the power sector and diversify the energy sources, while others called for the privatization of the TCN and the decentralization of the grid.
Nigeria has one of the lowest per capita electricity consumption rates in the world, with an average of 151 kilowatt-hours per year, according to the World Bank.
The country relies heavily on gas-fired power plants, which account for about 80% of its installed capacity of 12,522 megawatts (MW).
However, the actual power generation is often far below the potential, due to gas supply shortages, transmission constraints, vandalism, sabotage, and poor maintenance.
According to the TCN, the peak power generation ever recorded in Nigeria was 5,552MW on February 2, 2021.
The latest grid collapse was the first in 2024, but the 47th since 2017, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The IEA, in a report published in January, said Nigeria’s power grid was “unstable and prone to collapse” and recommended urgent reforms and investments to improve its reliability and efficiency.
The report also said Nigeria needed to increase its renewable energy capacity, especially solar and hydro, to reduce its dependence on gas and diesel.
The Nigerian government has announced several plans and initiatives to boost the power sector, such as the Presidential Power Initiative, the Solar Power Naija Programme, and the Siemens Project.
However, the implementation and impact of these projects have been slow and limited, leaving many Nigerians in the dark.
Despite the challenges, some Nigerians remain hopeful that the power situation will improve in the future, as more private and public sector players enter the market and offer alternative and affordable solutions.
Source: Business Day
