Nigeria’s national electricity grid collapsed completely on Friday, plunging parts of the country into darkness in the first total grid failure recorded in 2026.
Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) showed that power generation fell to zero megawatts, while electricity supply to all 11 distribution companies was fully cut off by about 1 p.m.
The affected distribution companies include Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja and Yola, all of which recorded zero load allocation at the time of the collapse.
The incident comes months after a string of grid disturbances recorded in 2025, with the most recent system failure occurring on December 29.
The repeated breakdowns have raised renewed concerns about the stability of Nigeria’s power sector, despite ongoing efforts by authorities to strengthen, upgrade and expand the national electricity infrastructure.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement on the cause of the collapse or the timeline for full restoration of supply.
