Nigeria was plunged into widespread darkness on Friday following the complete collapse of the national electricity grid, marking the first nationwide blackout recorded in 2026.

Data obtained from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) showed that power generation dropped to zero megawatts by about 1 p.m., leading to a total shutdown of electricity supply across the country.

As a result of the system failure, load allocation to all 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) fell to zero. The affected DisCos include Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola, all of which recorded zero load at the time of the collapse.

The outage comes months after a series of grid failures recorded in 2025, with the most recent occurring on December 29, despite ongoing efforts by authorities to strengthen and expand Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

Checks on the national distribution load profile before the collapse indicated strong electricity demand across major urban centres. Prior to the failure, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company was receiving about 639 megawatts, while Ikeja Electric drew approximately 630 megawatts, reflecting what operators described as robust demand in key cities.

As of the time of filing this report, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which manages the national grid, had yet to disclose the cause of the collapse. Although restoration efforts were said to be ongoing, no timeline had been provided for full recovery. Attempts to reach TCN officials for immediate comment were unsuccessful.

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