Nigeria’s national grid collapsed again in the early hours of Monday, April 15, 2024, leaving the country without power for the fifth time this year.
Data retrieved from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org) revealed that between 2:00 am and the time of filing this report, the grid recorded zero megawatts (MW).
As of Monday morning, the grid was only generating 52.3 MW, leaving many parts of the country without power for over five hours, and the grid has yet to fully recover.
This collapse marks the fifth grid collapse in 2024, adding to the problems that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector.
At the time of Monday morning’s system collapse, just one energy generating firm, Ibom Power, was operational, according to data from the Independent System Operator, a division of the Transmission firm of Nigeria.
Confirming the grid collapse, Jos Electricity Distribution Company’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Dr. Friday Elijah, expressed hope that the grid would be restored for normal power supply to electricity consumers.
In a notice to customers, he stated, “The current outage being experienced within our franchise states is a result of loss of power supply from the national grid.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu expressed regret to Nigerians for his recent remarks suggesting they leave freezers on for days due to low electricity tariffs.
“We apologise for any offence caused,” Adelabu stated on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He faced criticism for his comments made on April 4, 2024, where he claimed Nigerians lacked electricity management culture due to “cheap” power supply.
Adelabu defended the tariff hike, citing the Electricity Act 2023, which authorises the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review tariffs biannually.
He explained that reducing electricity subsidies was necessary due to budget constraints, aiming to allocate resources more effectively.
Adelabu clarified that only 15% of customers, around 1.5 million out of 12 million, would face tariff increases, while the majority would continue to receive subsidies.
He stressed the need to prioritise infrastructure improvements for Band A customers to ensure more reliable service.
