By Joke Kujenya
ONCE again, Nigerians find themselves grappling with a severe power crisis as the national electricity grid collapsed in the early hours of Monday, April 15, 2024.
The blackout, which struck about 2.00am and lasting till this hour, leaves vast swathes of the country plunged into darkness, according to data sourced from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org).
At the time of the collapse, the grid registered an alarming zero Megawatts (MW) output, with a feeble recovery to 52. 3MW by 7.10am Monday morning. This sharp decline in power generation sent shockwaves across the nation, with electricity distribution companies (DisCos) struggling to manage the sudden and prolonged outage.
This latest debacle marks the fifth grid failure in 2024 alone, underscoring the persistent challenges plaguing Nigeria’s power sector.
The consequences of this blackout reverberate widely, compounding the hardships faced by consumers and industry stakeholders already grappling with unreliable power supply.
Despite the widespread disruption, both the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and the DisCos have remained tight-lipped, failing to issue any official statements regarding the cause or potential solution to the crisis, a stance that consumers have described as lack of transparency that leaves the public and stakeholders in a state of uncertainty and frustration.
The timing of this collapse is coming barely a month after the hike in electricity tariffs or Band A consumers by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and has further heightened concerns about the accessibility and affordability of electricity for Nigerians.
This collapse also closely follows a similar collapse barely a week ago on Thursday, March 28, 2024, highlighting the alarming frequency of grid failures in recent times.
Efforts to restore the grid are reportedly ongoing, with data from the National System Operator indicating that the collapse occurred around midnight.
Also, attempts to reach the General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Mr. Ndidi Mbah, for his comment on the latest development have proven futile as calls and messages to his line remain unanswered.
In their reactions to this recurring incident, obviously angry Nigerians on various social media platforms are asking for comprehensive reforms in Nigeria’s power sector, urging the authorities to address the underlying issues and implement measures that would ensure a reliable and sustainable electricity supply for the citizens.
