The national electricity grid experienced a voltage disturbance originating from the Gombe Transmission Substation on Tuesday morning, the Nigerian Independent System Operator has confirmed, clarifying that the event affected only part of the grid and did not result in a total collapse, contrary to some media reports.
In a statement titled “Update on Partial System Disturbance on the National Grid”, NISO said the incident occurred at approximately 10:48 a.m., rapidly propagating across the network and impacting the Jebba, Kainji and Ayede Transmission Substations.
It noted that the disturbance caused the tripping of some transmission lines and generating units, resulting in what the operator described as a partial system collapse.
Recall that PUNCH Online reported that the power grid crashed again on Tuesday, the second time in four days.
The power generation dropped to just 39 megawatts at 11 a.m., down from 3,825 MW as of 10 a.m.
Our team monitoring the situation reported that power generation had peaked at 4,762 MW as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Also, EkoDisCo, in a statement on Tuesday, informed its customers of a system collapse that resulted in power loss.
This is the second grid collapse in January 2026 and the third in less than one month. The national grid previously collapsed on December 29, 2025, and more recently on Friday, January 23, 2026.
As the grid collapsed on Tuesday, load allocation to the distribution companies was 0.00 MW, indicating that no Disco was supplying electricity at the time of the incident.
Confirming the incident, the System Operator, which manages the transmission network and ensures stability across the country, attributed the prompt restoration to coordinated control room interventions and automated protection mechanisms embedded across the grid.
NISO said, “The Nigerian Independent System Operator wishes to state that at approximately 10:48 hours on January 27, 2026, the national grid experienced a voltage disturbance which originated from the Gombe Transmission Substation.
“The voltage disturbance rapidly propagated across the network, affecting Jebba, Kainji, and subsequently Ayede Transmission Substations. The event was accompanied by the tripping of some transmission lines and generating units, resulting in a partial system collapse.
“Appropriate corrective actions were immediately implemented to stabilise the system and restore normal operations. Restoration, which began at about 11:11 am, has since been completed. The incident only affected part of the grid; therefore, not a total collapse as reported by some media organisations. Additional information can be obtained from our website: www.niso.org.ng.
“The national grid has been fully restored, and electricity supply across the affected areas has since returned to normal.”
The incident comes amid ongoing discussions in the power sector on grid stability, investment in transmission infrastructure, and rapid response mechanisms to minimise service interruptions in a country where millions of households and businesses rely on a stable electricity supply.
