DisCos Blame Low Generation as National Grid Collapses Three Times in One Month
- DisCos have blamed low power generation for the repeated collapse of the national grid
- Reacting to the development, the NISO said a voltage disturbance from the Gombe substation caused the outage
- The latest outage triggered outrage, prompting measures from relevant authorities to restore power
Oluwatobi Odeyinka is a business editor at Legit.ng, covering energy, the money market, technology and macroeconomic trends in Nigeria.
Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have attributed the latest collapse of Nigeria’s national power grid to low power generation, following a third incident recorded in less than one month, PUNCH reported.
Source: Getty Images
The grid collapsed again on Tuesday, January 27, marking the second failure in four days and the second incident in January 2026. The system had earlier collapsed on December 29, 2025, and again on January 23, 2026.
Data from the power sector showed that electricity generation plunged sharply during the incident, dropping from about 3,825 megawatts (MW) at 10 am to as low as 39MW by 11 am. At the peak of the disruption, load allocation to all distribution companies fell to 0.00MW, meaning no electricity was supplied nationwide.
DisCos alert customers of power disruption
In notices to customers, several DisCos confirmed the outage and blamed it on a grid collapse. The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company said it was experiencing a total loss of supply across its network and could not immediately confirm when power would be restored.
Similarly, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company informed customers that the outage affecting its franchise areas was due to a grid collapse, appealing for patience as efforts were made to restore supply.
Reacting to the situation, Sunday Oduntan, spokesperson for the DisCos, acknowledged concerns about the repeated collapses but said the sector was not returning to the era of constant grid failures. According to him, key stakeholders, including the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), are working to stabilise the system.
DisCos blame poor power generation
Oduntan, however, stressed that insufficient power generation remains a major challenge. He noted that while recent grid faults were resolved faster than similar incidents in 2024, the underlying issue of low generation capacity continues to put pressure on the system.
Meanwhile, NISO said the latest incident was triggered by a voltage disturbance rather than a total system failure. In a statement, the operator explained that the disturbance originated from the Gombe Transmission Substation at about 10:48 am on Tuesday and spread across parts of the network.
Source: Getty Images
According to NISO, the event affected transmission substations in Jebba, Kainji and Ayede, leading to the tripping of some transmission lines and generating units. The agency described the incident as a partial system collapse and added that corrective actions were taken immediately.
NISO stated that restoration began at approximately 11.11am and that electricity supply across the affected areas had since been fully restored.
The latest disruption comes amid renewed debate within the power sector over grid resilience, investment in transmission infrastructure and the need for improved generation to support Nigeria’s electricity demand.
Nigerians express frustration amid low supply
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerians across major cities have accused electricity distribution companies of failing to meet the minimum supply hours mandated by NERC for various bands.
Consumers, including those on higher tariff bands entitled to longer daily supply, report receiving far less electricity.
Critics and regulators called for stricter enforcement and accountability to ensure customers receive the service they pay for.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
