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6 days ago
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Business
September 11, 2025 by John Ofikhenua, Abuja
Thirty-six states of the federation and parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were thrown into darkness yesterday as the national grid collapsed.
Following the data on the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) website at 11:25 hours, only Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) received only 20MW from the national grid.
On a good day, AEDC gets over 600Mw allocation but owing to the paucity of supply yesterday, more than 90per cent of the nation’s capital was plunged into darkness.
The AEDC also supplies Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger.
Since the grid was under restoration for several hours, the NISO data showed there was no supply to the other 10 DisCos until Ibadan DisCo received 40MW at 13:30 hours. It was an indication that the 36 states and parts of Abuja were affected for nearly two hours.
The 11 DisCos received 995MW at 16:00hours as the grid restoration progressed.
The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) recorded a grid disturbance because of a tripped GenCo at 11:25hours, according to NISO in a press statement.
It added that at 11:25am the country was plunged to a dip supply record of 20MW that was sent to only the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
In its restoration process, the supply crawled to 60MW because Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company received 40MW at 12:30 hours.
But as The Nation revisited the NISO website at 16:00hours, the Distribution Load Profile of the website showed that the 11 DisCos had 995MW to boot as follows: Abuja DisCo 150MW; Benin DisCo 60MW; Eko DisCo 100MW; Enugu DisCo 120MW; Ibadan DisCo 100MW; Ikeja DisCo 120MW; Jos DisCo 20MW; Kaduna DisCo 95MW; Kano DisCo 90MW; Port Harcourt DisCo 50MW; and Yola DisCo 40MW.
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From the NESI upstream, of the 26 GenCos connected to the national grid, the only four that were in operation at 16:00 hours produced 727MW while 22 recorded 0MW.
Shiroro (hydro) generated 301.23MW; Omotosho (Gas) 30.60MW; Okapi (Gas and Steam) 217MW and Delta (Gas) 179MW.
Meanwhile, the AEDC management notified its customers that the outage in its franchise areas was due to loss of supply from the national grid.
Although the NISO in a press statement described the situation as a grid disturbance from a tripped GenCo, it was silent on the name of the particular plant.
The press statement reads in part: “The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) informs the general public that the national grid experienced a system disturbance at 11:20 hrs on 10/09/2025.
“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 immediately commenced restoration of the grid at 11:45 hrs, beginning with supply to Abuja from the Shiroro power plant, and substantial restoration has been achieved across the country. A full investigation into the immediate and remote causes is underway.
“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.”
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