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Nigeria’s Power Grid Crumbles Again, First in 2026

"A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all DisCos — including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola — recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage"

Samuel AkpanJanuary 23, 20261 Mins read1k

Nigeria experienced its first major power grid failure of 2026 on Friday, January 23, resulting in a nationwide blackout.

Data indicates that electricity generation collapsed from over 4,500 megawatts (MW) to a critical low of just 24 MW.

With all 23 interconnected power plants losing output, power allocation to the country’s 11 distribution companies (DisCos) effectively dropped to zero, leaving millions of homes and businesses without electricity.

A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all DisCos — including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola — recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage.

The cause of the collapse is still unknown, with officials from the Transmission Company of Nigeria yet to issue a statement.

This incident follows a similar grid collapse on December 29, 2025, highlighting concerns about Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure and its ability to meet growing demand.

Experts attribute these collapses to technical faults, inadequate transmission line maintenance, and generation capacity fluctuations.

Details shortly…