Blackout as DisCos experience ‘system disturbance’

Nigerian electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have reported a widespread system disturbance that disrupted power supply across their networks on Friday.

In separate statements, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) confirmed the outage, which occurred at 2pm.

According to data from the Independent System Operator (ISO), TheCable observed power generation dropped from 3,366.88 megawatts (MW) to 1,517.53 MW at 2pm.

Ikeja Electric said the outage affected supply within its network and that restoration efforts were ongoing in collaboration with critical stakeholders.

Kano DisCo also acknowledged the disruption, informing customers that it was unable to distribute electricity across its franchise area.

“We are appealing to our valued customers to kindly bear with us as we monitor the situation for quickest restoration,” KEDCO said.

“Additionally, we urge you to remain vigilant and safeguard electricity infrastructure from vandals’ activities during this time.”

The outage comes at a time when the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced a record-breaking peak generation of 5,801.84 MW and a maximum daily energy output of 128,370.75 megawatt-hours — marking the highest electricity generation in Nigeria’s history.

Sule Abdulaziz, the managing director of TCN, said the company is on track to meet its ambitious 10,000MW target, building upon the current evacuation capacity of 8,500MW.

Abdulaziz said the government is committed to modernising the national grid and ensuring a stable power supply for citizens.