Nigeria’s power generation crashed from about 3,840 megawatts to 476.70MW on Monday afternoon, triggering electricity outages in parts of the country.
Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator’s portal, niggrid.org, showed that total electricity generation on the grid stood at approximately 3,840MW at 7 am before dropping sharply to 476.70MW by 1pm.
Generation remained relatively stable during the morning hours before the sudden decline around 12:40, which left the vast majority of the country’s power plants reporting zero output.
Only a handful of generating stations, including Odukpani NIPP, Omotosho and Sapele, were contributing small amounts of electricity as of the 1 pm reading.
Major power plants, including Egbin, Jebba, Shiroro and Kainji, alongside several gas-fired facilities, recorded zero generation on the grid.
The sharp decline coincided with reports of power outages, as electricity consumers took to social media to complain about interruptions between around 12.45pm and 1.20pm.
As of 1.23pm, the NISO dashboard showed real-time generation at about 480MW, with only five generating companies recording electricity output.
The figures indicated a drop of more than 3,300MW from the level recorded at 7am, raising concerns about the stability of the national electricity system.
Monday’s development comes amid recurring grid disturbances and collapses that have affected Nigeria’s electricity sector this year, raising concerns about the reliability of power supply to homes and businesses.
The Federal Government had recently approved plans to develop new eastern and western power grids as part of efforts to address recurring grid failures and improve electricity system stability.
However, the Nigerian Independent System Operator dismissed claims of a national grid collapse, insisting that there was no system-wide disturbance despite the sharp drop in generation.
A senior NISO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the reported outages could have resulted from local issues.
“There is no disturbance at the moment. Probably if something is happening, maybe it is a local issue, but there is nothing on the grid,” the official said.
The official explained that temporary outages or minor tripping in certain areas did not necessarily amount to a national grid collapse.
“Some of these things are tripping or other minor issues that, within minutes, you just see that it is fixed,” he said.
The official added that NISO had directed its team to carry out a quick system check to identify any anomalies.