Victor Ezeja
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) says restoration of the national grid has begun.
The grid collapsed at about 11:20 am on Wednesday, resulting in a significant drop in power supply in major cities across the country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis was the second time the country experienced grid collapse in 2025 after the one that occurred in February.
NISO said the grid collapse was caused by by the tripping of a generation company, resulting in a significant load drop, which cascaded to other GenCos and led to a system disturbance.
“The disturbance was caused by the tripping of a GenCo, resulting in a significant load drop, which cascaded to other GenCos, leading to a system disturbance,” NISO stated in a statement on Wednesday.
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NISO, which is responsible for managing the country’s national grid said restoration of the grid commenced at 11:45 hrs.
“NISO immediately commenced restoration grid at 11:45 hrs, beginning with supply to Abuja from the Shiroro power plant, and substantial Restoration has been achieved across the country.”
It also stated that full investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the grid collapse has started and assured that outcome of the investigation would be made public.
“The outcome(s) of the investigation report would determine the remedial and proactive actions to be taken to forestall future occurrences. We crave your indulgence to bear with us as restoration is still ongoing,” NISO said.
The incident led to blackout in major cities, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu, and Kano.
From about 4,500 megawatts, the total distribution load dropped to 120MW around 1 pm on Wednesday.
In separate statements, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Port Harcourt DisCo confirmed loss of power supply from the national grid.
According to information given by the National Grid, an X handle dedicated for update on the grid, the total distribution load for 11 DisCos as of Thursday morning 11 September 2025 is 3,228MW.
According to the update, Abuja DisCo now has a total of 494MW, Benin DisCo (263MW), Eko DisCo (415 MW), Enugu DisCo (251MW), Ibadan DisCo (387 MW)
Ikeja DisCo (488MW), Jos DisCo (182MW)
Kaduna DisCo (208MW), Kano DisCo (217 MW), Port Harcourt DisCo (229MW), and Yola DisCo (94MW).
Nigeria has continued to record cases of grid collapse, throwing the entire country into darkness, and causing significant economic losses for individual households and businesses.
Between 2010 and 2022, Nigeria’s national grid collapsed 222 times. In 2024, the national grid collapsed 12 times.
Experts have underscored the need to decentralize the power infrastructure as the only antidote for resolving the power crisis.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
