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Nigeria’s electricity supply plunged into near-total shutdown on Monday afternoon (December 29, 2025), after the national grid, operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), collapsed.
Data from the national grid showed that as of 6:38 p.m. on December 28, 2025, electricity generation stood at 3,660 megawatts. By 3:10 p.m. on Monday, however, generation had plunged to zero megawatts. Just two minutes later, power was supplied exclusively to Ibadan and Abuja Distribution Companies, which received only 30 MW and 20 MW respectively, far below normal allocation. Major DisCos, including Eko, Ikeja, Benin, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Jos, and Yola, recorded zero power allocation.
The blackout highlights a severe grid failure or system-wide constraint, leaving most parts of the country in darkness during peak daytime hours and raising fresh concerns over the stability of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
Nigeria began 2025 under the familiar shadow of instability when the national electricity grid collapsed on January 11, plunging much of the country into darkness just weeks after a year that recorded twelve collapses in 2024. Homes and businesses experienced sudden blackouts as electricity generation faltered and transmission systems failed, underscoring persistent weaknesses in the power sector.
Another crippling blackout followed on March 7, 2025, when a major grid disturbance left millions without power, marking the second significant collapse of the year and intensifying public frustration with erratic supply.
For much of the first quarter, regulators such as NERC and TCN initially denied full system collapses had occurred, attributing outages to line trippings or technical disturbances. These explanations offered little solace to customers enduring extended dark spells across major cities.
By September 10, 2025, the grid’s fragility was again laid bare when power generation crashed from nearly 2,918 MW to just 1.5 MW, plunging roughly 30 states into darkness. Nationwide DisCo allocations fell to near-zero, disrupting daily life, commerce, and critical services.
The December 29 collapse brought the year to a dramatic close. Nationwide distribution dipped to roughly 50 MW, leaving most regions with negligible power. Restoration efforts were underway, but the repeated blackouts underscored that Nigeria’s electricity sector remains deeply vulnerable.
Across 2025, these collapses were more than technical failures, they served as stark reminders of systemic challenges in Nigeria’s power infrastructure and the urgent need for reforms to prevent future nationwide blackouts.
