B y the close of 2025, Nigeria’s electricity sector had become a stark paradox: hundreds of millions of Dollars invested, tariffs at historic highs, reforms loudly proclaimed yet power supply remained unstable, unreliable and deeply frustrating for consumers.
Despite an $800 million intervention programme aimed at stabilising the national grid, the year was marked by repeated grid collapses, erratic electricity delivery and rising public anger. Rather than signalling recovery, 2025 exposed what experts describe as deep structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s electricity model.
A year of grid collapses Throughout the year, the national grid suffered multiple partial and total collapses, plunging homes, businesses and critical services into darkness without warning. Power supply across major cities and industrial centres oscillated between brief restoration and sudden outages.
Sector records indicated that the grid experienced more than a dozen major disturbances in 2025, many escalating into nationwide blackouts. Weak transmission lines, frequency instability and ageing protection systems were repeatedly cited as causes. “This s not accidental; it is systemic,” said Engr. Sule Ahmed, a former senior manager at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
“We are running a modern economy on infrastructure designed decades ago.” Transmission bottleneck Experts consistently point to Nigeria’s fragile, centralised transmission network as the sector’s weakest link. “In resilient systems, faults are isolated quickly,” explained Dr. Aisha Lawal, energy systems researcher at the University of Lagos.
“In Nigeria, one disturbance cascades nationwide because the grid lacks redundancy.” Former NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, has also warned that a governmentcontrolled transmission monopoly creates accountability gaps in an otherwise privatised value chain.
$800m intervention under scrutiny The Federal Government’s $800 million power intervention—sourced from multilateral financing and budgetary support—was intended to strengthen transmission infrastructure and improve grid stability. However, consumers reported little improvement by year’s end.
“Funding is not the main issue; utilisation is,” said Prof. Chinedu Okafor, an energy policy analyst and former National Assembly adviser. “We keep investing in a centralised model that has repeatedly failed.” Several transmission projects suffered delays due to procurement bottlenecks, right-of-way disputes and execution challenges, while others underperformed due to downstream distribution constraints.
Government and TCN respond Reacting to public criticism, the Federal Ministry of Power defended the intervention, in sisting that reforms are yielding gradual results. “The power sector challenges were decades in the making and cannot be resolved overnight,” said Mr. Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser on Strategic Communications to the Minister of Power.
“The $800 million intervention is focused on longterm grid reinforcement, not quick fixes. Nigerians will see improved stability as projects mature.” Similarly, TCN acknowledged system disturbances but attributed many collapses to factors beyond its control.
“Our transmission wheeling capacity has increased significantly,” said Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs. “However, vandalism, gas constraints, sudden load rejections by DisCos and ageing assets continue to pose serious risks to grid stability.”
Paying more, getting less Public frustration peaked with tariff hikes under the cost-reflective pricing regime. Consumers were promised improved supply, but frequent grid failures erased expected gains.
