Blackout As National Grid Collapses Again

The National Grid suffered another collapse on Thursday, 7th November, plunging Nigeria into a fresh round of darkness.

The fresh collapse of the National Grid occurred barely two days after it collapsed on Tuesday.

Confirming the fresh collapse, managers of the Nigerian National Grid, in a post via their official account on X, @NationalGridNg, wrote: “BREAKING: Another Grid Setback Experienced.”

It would be recalled that following Tuesday’s collapse, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) blamed the constant grid collapses in Nigeria on the rejection of loads by the electricity distribution companies (Discos).

The NOA said the Discos are unable to carry the capacity of generated electricity.

Speaking via a statement on Tuesday after the national grid collapsed for the tenth time in 2024 alone, the NOA said the inability of the discos to play their part despite increased generation is responsible for the constant collapses of the nation’s electricity grid.

Also, the Federal Government has disclosed that a deficient maintenance culture and outdated and insufficient equipment are significant factors contributing to the frequent collapses of the national power grid observed in recent months.

Nafisatu Asabe Ali, the Chairperson of the investigative committee examining the causes of the grid failures while presenting a report yesterday at Ministry headquarters in Abuja, noted that the excessive voltage of electricity exceeding the equipment’s capacity was responsible for the blackouts experienced on October 14 and 19, 2024.

According to her, the investigative team identified similar issues and challenges affecting all stations during their inquiry.

She indicated that the team investigated the grid collapse incidents on October 14 and 19, discovering that the failure of lightning arrestors at the Jebba and Oshogbo transmission stations, as well as an explosion of a current transformer at Jebba Station, were the causes of both events.