‘The Grid Has Been Unstable’: Ikeja Electric Apologises to Customers as Blackout Worsens

Nigeria’s electricity supply suffered a fresh setback on Monday as power generation on the national grid crashed to 1,698.50 megawatts, forcing distribution companies to ration the little available supply to customers.

Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator showed that as of 10:06am on Monday, only nine of the 33 power plants connected to the grid were generating electricity. The figure represents a sharp decline from the 3,629.35MW recorded around 6am the same day.

The drop in generation triggered load shedding by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), leaving large parts of the country in darkness.

Ikeja Electric, one of the country’s electricity distribution companies, confirmed the development in a message to its customers, attributing the outages to instability on the national grid.

“The outage you are currently experiencing is due to ‘TCN load shedding’ affecting the feeder supplying your vicinity. We deeply and sincerely apologise for these recurrent and prolonged outages you have been experiencing,” the company said.

It added: “The grid has been unstable hence the poor supply. As the grid supply improves, TCN load shedding will stop and the supply will be stable. Please bear with us as we continue to serve you.”

The admission comes amid growing frustration among consumers, including those on the premium feeders, who have complained of recurrent and prolonged blackouts in recent weeks despite paying higher tariffs.