The Nigerian power grid experienced another collapse on Monday, October 19, 2024, marking the sixth time that the residents of the the country have being plugged to total darkness.
According to data obtained from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org), between 7:00 pm and the time of filing this report, the grid recorded an unprecedented zero Megawatts (MW).
Data gleaned showed that all 22 generation companies (GenCos) are down as at the time of this report.
This collapse marks the sixth grid disturbance in 2024, adding to challenges that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector.
Despite the widespread impact of the blackout, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had not stated to confirm the occurrence, leaving the public and stakeholders in the dark about the source and resolution of the newest crisis.
On February 4, Nigeria recorded its first blackout in 2024 as the national power grid collapsed at around 11:51 AM, as the TCN-operated grid went down. As a result, the system’s capacity dropped from 2,407 megawatts to just 31MW by midday and to zero by 1 PM.
On August 5, the country recorded its fifth blackout of the year.