The Nigerian Independent System Operator has announced that public power supply in Lagos State has been significantly disrupted following a major shutdown at the Egbin Power Station and a simultaneous fault on a key transmission route feeding the state.

The operator in a statement on Thursday stated that the combined incidents could lead to prolonged power shortages across Lagos.

It was learnt that the disruption began late on April 28 when Egbin Power Station experienced a critical operational failure that forced an immediate halt in generation. Power output dropped sharply from about 641 megawatts to zero within a short period.

The development led to immediate load-shedding measures to maintain grid stability and prevent a wider system disturbance.

The statement read in part: “System operators have since deployed contingency measures, including the reallocation of available load across distribution companies, with priority given to critical national infrastructure.

“Power supply to the Lagos region is currently further restricted due to the forced outage of the Osogbo–Ikeja West 330kV transmission line, thereby limiting the evacuation of available generation into the Lagos load centre.

“Consequently, this loss of generation has created a significant supply shortfall, necessitating immediate load-shedding measures to maintain grid stability and prevent a wider system disturbance.

“System operators have since deployed contingency measures, including the reallocation of available load across distribution companies, with priority given to critical national infrastructure.

“In addition, efforts are ongoing to optimise generation from other available power plants to mitigate the impact of this development on electricity consumers.”