Nigeria's national electricity grid collapsed for the twelfth time in 2024 on December 11, plunging the country into darkness once again. The outage occurred at 2:09 PM, as confirmed by a tweet from the National Grid's official handle, which stated, “The major grid setback has occurred and the restoration is to commence.”
The latest failure has sparked renewed frustration among Nigerians, many of whom have taken to social media to express their discontent. Affected citizens reported prolonged power outages, with some stating they had been without electricity for days. “This is unacceptable! We can't keep living like this,” one user lamented on X (formerly Twitter).
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, had assured the public earlier that significant improvements would come with the completion of the Siemens Project, aimed at stabilizing the grid. He emphasized that phase one of this initiative is nearing completion and is expected to add 750 megawatts to the grid's capacity.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, attributed part of the problem to the use of substandard electrical materials, highlighting systemic issues within Nigeria's power infrastructure. “We need to address these foundational problems if we are ever to achieve a stable power supply,” he stated during a recent committee meeting.
Electricity distribution companies (Discos) also confirmed the outage. Jos Disco noted that power supply was lost around 1:33 PM, while Eko Disco communicated similar concerns via their X handle. “We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid,” Eko Disco stated.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has yet to provide details on the cause of this latest collapse.
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