Nigerians have been thrown into darkness as the country’s national electricity grid, centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, collapsed at approximately 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.
This is the fourth time the grid is collapsing in the first three months of the year, adding to challenges that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector.
Local media report suggests that feeders of various distribution companies, spanning the nation’s 36 states, were rendered inactive, resulting in widespread blackouts across the country.
The grid’s output, which stood at 2,984 megawatts as of 4 pm, plummeted to zero within the span of an hour, with all 21 plants connected to the grid ceasing operations by 5 pm.
“This incident marks another setback for Nigeria’s electricity sector, which has been marred by persistent issues despite privatisation efforts aimed at revitalisation,” Business Day reported.
Over the past decade since privatisation, the grid has experienced a staggering 141 collapses, underscoring the magnitude of the systemic challenges facing the industry.
As of the time of reporting at 6:00 pm, the Azura Power Plant was the sole facility contributing to the grid, albeit with a modest output of 54 megawatts.
Major power generation plants such as Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani and Olorunsogo, among others, remained dormant, further exacerbating the electricity deficit nationwide.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
