Nigerians were plunged into darkness again on Tuesday after the national electricity grid collapsed for the second time in four days, deepening fears over the stability of the country’s power infrastructure.
The latest collapse occurred at 10:48 a.m., according to an update on the Nigeria National Grid’s official X account. By 11:20 a.m., power loading had dropped to zero across the country, with all distribution companies (DisCos) reporting no supply.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EkoDisco) confirmed the outage in a notice to customers, stating that the system collapse led to a total loss of power supply across its network.
“We are currently working with our TCN partners as we hope for the speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” the company said.
This is the second total grid failure within four days, following the first collapse on Friday, January 23, 2026. Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) showed that electricity generation dropped sharply to zero megawatts (MW) at about 11:40 a.m. on that day, signalling a complete system failure.
The blackout on Friday affected all 11 DisCos, including major networks such as Ikeja Electric, Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC). NISO data also indicated that load allocation to DisCos remained at zero MW as of 1:00 p.m., confirming a nationwide shutdown.
The recurrence of the collapse has reignited concerns over the resilience of Nigeria’s power grid, which has experienced multiple failures in recent years. In 2025 alone, the grid suffered several collapses, with the last recorded on December 29.
The repeated outages have intensified criticism of the government’s efforts to improve power supply, despite interventions aimed at boosting generation and stabilising transmission.
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi described the first grid collapse of 2026 as a “national shame” and attributed the recurring failures to poor leadership. In a statement on his X handle, Obi noted that the pattern of power disruptions seen in previous years has continued into 2026.
He emphasised that Nigeria remains the lowest-ranked country globally in electricity access, with nearly 100 million citizens without power between 2023 and 2025.
“It is utterly disappointing that our nation continues to rank lowest in electricity access, leaving millions in darkness,” he said.
Obi also compared Nigeria’s generation capacity with other African nations, noting that South Africa, Egypt and Algeria each generate more than 40,000 MW, while Nigeria produces about 5,000 MW despite having a population of over 240 million.
He said the power crisis has severely constrained productivity and economic growth, and urged Nigerians to elect
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