Abuja, Nigeria – Nigeria’s fragile power grid has once again buckled, causing widespread blackouts across the country on Tuesday. This marks the ninth such incident this year, underscoring the chronic power supply issues that continue to plague Africa’s most populous nation.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) attributed the partial collapse to a series of line and generator trips that destabilized the grid around 1252 GMT. While some areas, including the capital Abuja, experienced a relatively swift restoration of power, many regions remain without electricity.
“TCN engineers are actively working to restore bulk power supply to the affected states,” said spokesperson Ndidi Mbah.
Nigeria’s power woes are deeply rooted in a combination of factors, including aging infrastructure, rampant vandalism, and inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants, which constitute the backbone of the nation’s electricity generation. Despite possessing the capacity to generate over 13,000 megawatts of power, the country’s dilapidated grid can only distribute a fraction of this, forcing businesses and households to rely on expensive and polluting generators.
