By Adenike Lawal
Nigeria’s electricity network suffered a nationwide shutdown on Friday, marking the country’s first total power grid collapse in 2026 and plunging several areas into darkness.
Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) show that electricity generation dropped to zero megawatts at about 1:00 p.m., cutting power supply to all 11 distribution companies.
The affected DisCos include Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja, and Yola.
The collapse follows a series of similar incidents in 2025, with the last nationwide outage recorded on December 29, despite ongoing efforts to strengthen the power sector.
Recently, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company injected an additional 450 megawatts into the grid after maintenance at the Geregu power plant, while NISO also conducted a synchronisation test with the West African Power Pool to improve system stability.
