Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have appealed to their customers for patience as the nation experiences another blackout caused by a grid collapse, marking the second occurrence this year.
It faltered on February 4th, casting the nation into darkness.
The national electricity grid experienced a collapse at 4:30 pm on Thursday, plunging millions of households and businesses into darkness.
According to data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the grid faltered around 4:00 pm on Thursday, resulting in a drop from 2,984 megawatts (MW) to zero within an hour. By 5:00 pm, all 21 plants connected to the grid had ceased operations.
While acknowledging the situation and providing insight into the cause of the nationwide blackout, some of the DisCos explained that the grid collapse rendered their feeders inactive.
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement on Thursday, appealed for understanding from its customers, confirming that the current power outage stemmed from a system failure in the national grid.
“The system collapsed at about 16:28 hours today 28 March 2024, causing the outage currently being experienced across our franchise area,” AEDC posted on its X handle.
“We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply.”
In a corresponding communication to its clientele, the leadership of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) conveyed that the system collapse resulted in a complete loss of electricity supply throughout its distribution network.
“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as the power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” EKEDC said.
The most recent grid collapse adds to a series of similar incidents over the past year. In 2023, Nigeria encountered power disruptions, with collapses occurring twice in September and once in December of that same year.