National

Blackout as national grid collapses fourth time in 2024

Adamu Jubril

The National Electricity Grid on Saturday experienced another system failure, the fourth this year.

The grid collapse led to a nationwide blackout in states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The national grid collapsed for the first time in 2024 on February 4 followed by a nationwide outage on March 28 and another system collapse on April 15.

The grid collapsed for the fourth time this year at 3:10 pm on Saturday, according to electricity distribution companies.

In a statement, Kaduna Electric, which serves Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara states, said, “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to System Collapse of the National Grid.

“The collapse occurred at about 3:10 pm. hence the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders.

“Power supply shall be restored as soon as the National Grid is powered back.
Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”

Also, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), which serves the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Niger, Kogi, and Nasarawa states, blamed the power outage experienced on the collapse of the national grid.

“Please be informed that the power outage being experienced is due to a system failure from the national grid at 3:10 pm today, affecting the power supply to our franchise areas,” the AEDC said.

Fire Outbreak?

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc, which serves Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and parts of Ekiti states, blamed the forced outage on a fire outbreak at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Similarly, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc confirmed a general system collapse in the five states of the South-East geopolitical zone. “This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network.

“Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States,” the disco said in a statement.

The Jos Electricity Distribution Company serving Plateau, Bauchi, Benue, and Gombe states further confirmed the collapse of the national grid.

Earlier on Thursday, President Bola Tinubu decried Nigeria’s power generation capacity, saying that the capacity of 4.5 gigawatts is shameful.