Nationwide Darkness as Nigeria’s Power Grid Collapses for First Time in 2026

Nigeria was thrown into a nationwide blackout on Friday after the national electricity grid collapsed, marking the first grid failure recorded in 2026.

The incident occurred at about 1:00 pm when electricity load allocation to all power distribution companies (DisCos) dropped to zero, effectively cutting off supply across the country.

Figures from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) showed that power generation plunged to zero megawatts (MW), resulting in a total shutdown of the grid.

An assessment of the national distribution load profile at the time confirmed that all DisCos — including those serving Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola — recorded zero load, underscoring the nationwide scale of the outage.

The grid collapse came shortly after operators reported strong electricity demand in major cities. Prior to the failure, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company was receiving about 639 MW, while Ikeja Electric was allocated roughly 630 MW, indicating what officials described as robust demand in key urban centres.

As of the time of filing this report, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which oversees the national grid, had not disclosed the cause of the collapse. While restoration efforts were said to be underway, there was no clear timeline for full power recovery. Efforts to obtain immediate comments from TCN officials were unsuccessful.

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