Blackout hits Nigeria, leaving millions without power

• Power generation dropped to zero megawatts
• Restored power remains a fraction of normal consumption
• Nigeria frequently experiences unreliable power supplies

Nigeria is currently grappling with widespread power outages due to a “complete system failure,” as reported by electricity distribution companies.

Early on Thursday, the electricity generation dropped to zero megawatts.

While some power has been restored, it remains a minuscule fraction of the normal electricity consumption in Africa’s most populous nation.

Despite being a significant oil and gas producer, Nigeria frequently experiences unreliable power supplies.

In 2022 alone, the country’s power grid suffered at least four collapses, which were attributed to technical issues.

Nigeria has the potential to generate up to 12,500 megawatts of electricity in theory, but in practice, it typically produces only a quarter of that capacity, as per Reuters.

Around 10:30 local time (09:30 GMT) on Thursday, power generation in Nigeria increased from zero to 273 megawatts.

However, this figure is still far below the daily average of 4,100 megawatts, according to data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu, who has been in office for just over 100 days, has pledged to address this issue by allowing state governments to establish their power plants.