Nigeria’s national grid operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from Osogbo, Osun State, on Thursday, experienced a system collapse, thereby throwing customers into total darkness.

Distribution companies across the country later in the morning, confirmed the system collapse in separate notices to their customers, adding that most of their feeders are out.

The grid was said to have collapsed twice within six hours, the first at about 12:40 a.m. and the second, around 6:41 a.m.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) in their notice titled, ‘Notice of Total System Collapse’ and signed by its head of corporate communications, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed the development.

EEDC’s notice read, “The EEDC wishes to inform her esteemed customers of a total system collapse which occurred at 12:40 a.m. today, September 14, 2023.

“This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network. Due to this development, all our interface TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria) stations are out of supply and we are unable to provide service to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States.

“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo,” he added.

Also confirming the development on Thursday on its X handle, the management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) said it, “wishes to inform its customers that the power outage currently being experienced is as a result of a system failure from the national grid in the early hours of today, 14 September 2023.

“Be rest assured that we are working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid is stabilised,” it assured.

The Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), in its own notice issued by Friday Adakole Elijah, head, corporate communications, said, “The current outage being experienced in our franchise states is as a result of a system collapse from the national grid.

“The collapse occurred in the early hours of today, hence the loss of power supply on all our feeders.

“We hope to restore normal power supply to our customers as soon as the grid supply is restored back to normal.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we strive to serve you better,” he disclosed on the company’s X handle.

In another notice to its customers titled, ‘Power Outage In Our Franchise Due To Grid Collapse,’ Abdulazeez Abdullahi, the head, corporate communication of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) said, “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to System Collapse of the National Grid.

“The collapse occurred at about 6:40 a.m. this morning hence the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders.

“Power supply shall be restored as soon as the National Grid is powered back,” as it apologised for any inconvenience caused via its X handle.

Additionally, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) in its own notice on its X handle said, “Dear valued customer, kindly be informed that a system collapse occurred today at 6:41 a.m. This has resulted in the total loss of supply across our network.

“We are in continuous communication with our partners at National Control Center (NCC), Osogbo.

“You will be updated as we get more information. Kindly bear with us,” the statement added.

However, the management of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company had in a notice dated September 12, announced that it had experienced a system collapse on September 11.

The notice read, “The management of Yola Electricity Distribution Company wishes to inform our esteemed customers that the current power outage occurring at about 14:40 Hrs on September 11, 2023, is due to a fault at the Yola Transmission Station, specifically on transformer T1, 150MCA 330/132kV Transformer.

“Areas affected by the outage include Jimeta, Jambutu, Girei Area, Yola Town, Fufore, Mayo Belwa, Jeda, Zing, and the entire Jalingo area.

“Please be rest assured that Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) is actively monitoring the situation and working closely with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to expedite the restoration of power supply to our valued customers in these affected areas.

“We thank you for your patience and continued trust in Yola Electricity Distribution Company as your reliable energy provider,” it concluded.

The recent collapse is happening about one week after TCN celebrated 400 days of the stability of the grid.