Blackout looms as electricity grid collapses again

Nigeria is currently experiencing a blackout, as a collapse of the electricity grid has been reported.

In a recent statement, Oyebode Fadipe, general manager, corporate communications at the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), said the system collapse occurred at about 12:26pm on Wednesday.

According to him, the incident led to an interruption of power supply in Abuja and its surroundings.

Fadipe, meanwhile assured Nigerians that power supply will be restored to the states within its franchise as soon as the firm receives significant improvement in energy allocation.

“We have been unable to serve our customers in Niger, Kogi and Nasarawa States as well as a significant portion of the entire Federal Capital Territory,” Fadipe said.

“At the moment, only 20 megawatts (MW) have been allocated to AEDC as against the over 400MW that we have been receiving in recent times.”

The grid often records partial or total collapse, which renders most homes in darkness. The grid collapsed in February and May, leading to a blackout across the country. This is worsening the blackout being experienced by households and businesses in parts of Nigeria.

The grid, which is being managed by government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria, has continued to suffer system collapse over the years. This will be the fourth time this is happening in recent times.

Eko Electricity Distribution Company, in a text message to its customers, said, “Dear customer, the present outage is due to a system collapse on the National Grid. TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria) assures us that supply will be restored shortly.” NAN