Nigeria was thrown into widespread darkness on Friday after the national electricity grid collapsed, marking the first system failure of 2026.
The incident occurred at about 1 p.m. when power allocation to all electricity distribution companies (DisCos) dropped abruptly to zero.
Information from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) indicated that electricity generation fell to zero megawatts (MW), resulting in a complete shutdown of power supply nationwide.
An assessment of the national load distribution profile at the time showed that all DisCos — including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola — recorded zero load, confirming a total nationwide outage.
The grid collapse followed reports of high electricity demand across major cities. Prior to the failure, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company was receiving about 639 MW, while Ikeja Electric had a load allocation of approximately 630 MW, underscoring strong demand in key urban centres.
As of the time of filing this report, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which oversees the national grid, had not disclosed the cause of the system failure.
While efforts to restore supply were said to be underway, no definite timeline for full recovery had been provided. Repeated attempts to obtain immediate comments from TCN officials were unsuccessful.