Nigeria’s national electricity grid suffered its first system collapse of 2026 on Thursday, January 23, 2026, plunging power generation to zero megawatts at the peak of the incident and leaving millions of households and businesses in darkness across the country.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed the collapse occurred around 2:15 p.m., triggering a nationwide blackout that lasted several hours in most areas. Partial restoration began by evening, but many parts of the country remained without supply into the night.
According to TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah, the collapse was triggered by “a sudden loss of generation units” at the Kainji and Jebba hydroelectric plants, compounded by frequency instability and the tripping of major transmission lines. Preliminary investigations point to equipment failure, grid instability from low generation, and possible vandalism on transmission infrastructure.
The incident reignited public anger over Nigeria’s chronic electricity challenges, with critics blaming underinvestment, vandalism, poor maintenance, gas supply constraints, and lack of a robust transmission network.
Civil society groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Enough is Enough Nigeria, called the collapse “unacceptable” and demanded urgent reforms, including full commercialisation of the distribution companies (Discos) and accelerated investment in renewable and off-grid solutions.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has repeatedly promised to end grid collapses, is yet to make a direct statement on the latest incident, though the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has promised a full investigation and urgent remedial measures.
This collapse comes just weeks after the Federal Government and ASUU signed a historic deal to improve university funding and stability raising questions about the government’s capacity to deliver on multiple critical infrastructure fronts simultaneously.
By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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