Nigeria's electricity grid suffered a severe collapse on Monday, with supply crashing by 81.5 per cent to 675 megawatts (MW) at 1pm, down from 3,647MW at noon. The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) said the number of power plants connected to the grid fell sharply from 21 to just 12 within that hour, resulting in a loss of 2,972MW of generating capacity. Major facilities that went offline included the Azura, Egbin, Jebba and Kainji hydroelectric power plants.
The grid had been performing relatively strongly earlier in the day, with NISO data showing generation of 4,331MW at 1am and 4,458MW at 6am before declining to 3,647MW by noon. The sudden drop at 1pm was triggered by multiple trippings on the 330-kilovolt transmission network. Supply gradually recovered to 2,150MW by 5pm, gaining 1,475MW from the 1pm low point, though it remained substantially below morning levels.
The failure prompted electricity distribution companies to issue notices to their customers. Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) informed clients that the Transmission Company of Nigeria's technical team was working to restore grid stability and that power supply was being gradually restored. The company apologised for the interruption. Ikeja Electric similarly attributed the reduced supply across its network to a shortfall in power allocated from the national grid and said it was engaging stakeholders to improve available supply.
NISO stated that the incident occurred at approximately 12:40pm on October 19, 2026, and that it had immediately implemented corrective measures in collaboration with TCN. The system operator said restoration efforts had been successfully completed and the national grid had returned to normal operation. NISO clarified that the incident affected only a section of the grid, contradicting what it called unverified reports and claims of wider disruption.
For Nigerian households and businesses, the grid collapse meant sudden loss of electricity supply across multiple distribution networks at a time when the country continues to grapple with power reliability challenges.