By Sabiu Abdullahi
Nigeria was thrown into darkness on Monday after the national electricity grid experienced another system failure following a sharp drop in power generation.
Findings showed that the disruption occurred at about 3 pm when major power stations supplying electricity to the grid suddenly lost generation, forcing the system to shut down.
Data obtained from industry sources indicated that electricity output earlier rose to about 4,800 megawatts on Monday. The figure later fell steeply to 139 megawatts as of 3 pm, which triggered the collapse of the grid.
The immediate cause of the failure was not confirmed at the time of reporting. However, the incident happened while the Nigerian Independent System Operator was working to increase electricity supply after recent gas shortages that followed cases of pipeline vandalism.
Checks further revealed that as of the time this report was filed, all 22 power plants connected to the national grid had dropped off from electricity generation.
The development left several parts of the country without power supply, as distribution companies struggled to restore electricity to affected areas.
More details are expected as authorities continue to assess the situation.