Nigeria’s latest national grid collapse has been traced to a fault at the Gombe transmission substation, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has confirmed, shedding light on the cause of the widespread power outage that plunged parts of the country into darkness.
In a statement on the incident, NISO said preliminary investigations showed that a disturbance at the Gombe substation triggered a system imbalance, leading to the shutdown of the national grid. The operator noted that the fault affected grid stability and forced an automatic protective response across the network.
NISO explained that engineers were immediately deployed to isolate the fault and commence restoration efforts, adding that supply was gradually being restored to affected distribution companies as technical conditions permitted.
The system operator assured electricity consumers that a detailed technical review was ongoing to determine the exact sequence of events and prevent a recurrence.
It added that findings from the investigation would be shared with relevant stakeholders, including the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), generation companies and distribution companies.
The grid collapse is the latest in a series of system disturbances that have continued to expose the fragility of Nigeria’s power infrastructure, despite ongoing reforms in the electricity sector. Industry experts say recurring outages underscore the need for sustained investment in transmission infrastructure, improved grid protection systems and stricter operational discipline.
NISO reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining grid stability and working with sector operators to strengthen the resilience of the national transmission network, even as consumers and businesses count the economic cost of repeated power disruptions.
