Nigeria has experienced extensive power cuts due to a “total system collapse,” as reported by electricity distribution companies.
Early on Thursday, power generation levels plummeted to zero megawatts. Although some supply has been restored, it remains significantly below the usual consumption levels in Africa’s most populous nation.
Nigeria frequently grapples with unreliable power supplies, despite being a major producer of oil and gas. This represents the most severe outage in a year, with the country’s grid collapsing at least four times in 2022, typically attributed to technical issues by authorities.
Access to a consistent power supply is available to less than half of Nigeria’s population, with many relying on alternative sources such as generators and inverters.
Most homes and businesses use a combination of these sources in addition to the national grid.
In theory, Nigeria has the capacity to generate up to 12,500 MW of power, but in practise, it typically produces only a quarter of that capacity, according to Reuters.
Around 10:30 local time on Thursday (09:30 GMT), power levels increased from zero to 273 MW, which still falls significantly short of the daily average of 4,100 MW, as indicated by data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu, who has been in office for just over 100 days, has pledged to enhance the power supply by permitting state governments to establish their own power plants.