Nigeria’s national power grid suffered its first collapse of the year on Wednesday, plunging several parts of the country into darkness.

Data from the Independent System Operator (ISO) revealed that power generation dropped sharply from 2,917.83MW to just 1.5MW between 11 am and 12 pm.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed the incident in a statement on Twitter, noting that the outage was due to a total loss of supply from the grid at exactly 11:23 am.

“Please be informed that the power outage currently being experienced is due to a loss of supply from the national grid at 11:23 am today, affecting electricity supply across our franchise areas,” AEDC said. “Rest assured, we are working closely with the relevant stakeholders to ensure power is restored once the grid is stabilized.”

This collapse comes after months of denials and assurances from regulators. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had earlier stated that there was no grid collapse in the first quarter of 2025. However, past years tell a different story — in 2024 alone, the grid collapsed 11 times, leaving millions of Nigerians frustrated by recurring nationwide blackouts.

As authorities work to restore supply, concerns remain over the reliability of Nigeria’s power infrastructure and its ability to meet growing energy demands.