Nigeria’s Power Grid Suffers Major Drop, Leading to Widespread Outages

Emmanuel EjioforAugust 6, 20241 Mins read508

Nigeria experienced a significant power outage on Monday as the national electricity grid’s output dropped to 1,255.78 megawatts (MW) around 3pm, leaving parts of the country in darkness.

The last major grid failure occurred on July 6, 2024.

Before the power outage incident, the electricity supply had peaked at 4,067.77 MW but then slumped. By 9 pm, power generation had begun to recover, reaching 3,005.82 MW.

Power has been restored to many areas, although the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has not yet issued a statement. At 9 pm, Monday, Azura Power supplied 408 MW, Delta Gas 367 MW, Jebba Hydro 455 MW, Olorunsogo 190 MW, and Kainji Hydro 251 MW to the national grid.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) addressed its customers in Abuja, Kogi, Niger, and Nasarawa, asking for patience.

“Dear valued customers, we understand that some of our customers are still without power due to a system failure from the national grid at 2.55 pm today, 5th August 2024.

“Please be assured that the system is gradually stabilising, and we are working diligently with all relevant stakeholders to restore power to the affected areas as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” the AEDC said online.

Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million, struggles with electricity, with power supply ranging between 3,500 MW and 5,000 MW. The federal government promised that by 2024, the country will generate, distribute, and wheel at least 6,000 MW to customers nationwide.

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