Nigeria was plunged into nationwide darkness on Friday, January 23, 2026, following a major collapse of the national electricity grid. This incident marked the first grid collapse of 2026 and the second in approximately three weeks, occurring at about 12:40 PM. The system failure led to a complete shutdown of electricity supply, as power generation plummeted to zero megawatts (MW), consequently disconnecting homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure across the interconnected network.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), the grid manager, attributed the system-wide disturbance to the simultaneous tripping of multiple 330kV transmission lines, coupled with the disconnection of several grid-connected generating units. These combined events collectively contributed to the system collapse at the indicated time. Prior to the incident, the national grid had been transmitting over 4,000 MW of electricity, reflecting a period of relatively stable operations before the abrupt failure.

All 11 electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) were affected, with industry data showing load allocation to them dropping to nil shortly after the collapse, underscoring the severity of the disturbance. Discos across the country scrambled to inform their customers and assure them of efforts to restore supply in collaboration with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and NISO. For instance, Abuja Disco, Ikeja Disco, Benin Disco, and Yola Disco all issued statements describing the event variously as a 'system disturbance,' 'system outage,' or 'system collapse,' and conveyed their commitment to restoration.

Following the outage, NISO confirmed that system restoration activities commenced at approximately 1:15 PM, in accordance with established grid restoration and recovery procedures. As of the time of their update, electricity supply had been successfully restored to key cities and regions including Abuja, Osogbo, Benin, Onitsha, Sakete, Jebba, Kainji, Shiroro, and parts of Lagos. Restoration efforts were reported to be continuing progressively in other parts of the country.

NISO also stated that a detailed investigation into the root and contributory causes of the disturbance is currently ongoing. The full restoration and stabilization of the national grid remain a top operational priority, as the authorities work to understand the full scope of the collapse and prevent future occurrences.