Tuesday’s disruption of Nigeria’s national grid was traced to a voltage disturbance at the Gombe transmission substation, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has confirmed.
In a statement updating the public on repair and restoration efforts, NISO clarified that the incident did not constitute a total system collapse, contrary to reports by some media outlets. The disturbance marked the second grid disruption recorded in 2026.
Electricity supply across affected areas has since been fully restored following prompt corrective actions by NISO’s technical teams.
“The national grid has been fully restored, and electricity supply across the affected areas has returned to normal,” the statement read. “The incident only affected part of the national grid; it was not a total collapse.”
NISO explained that the disturbance originated at the Gombe substation before spreading to other parts of the network, affecting key substations including Jebba, Kainji, and Ayede. The event triggered the tripping of some transmission lines and generating units, resulting in a partial system collapse.
Restoration efforts began immediately after the incident and were completed within hours. While corrective measures stabilised the system, the voltage disturbance briefly disrupted power infrastructure beyond Gombe before normal operations resumed.
Nigeria’s power grid has faced recurring disruptions in recent years. In 2025 alone, the national grid collapsed multiple times, with the last incident recorded on December 29. Tuesday’s event, classified as a partial system collapse, saw power generation temporarily drop to zero megawatts at around 11:00 am.
