Lagos - Nigeria encountered a widespread power outage that lasted approximately 10 hours, triggered by a fire-induced collapse of the national electrical grid, as reported by both authorities and the nation's electricity distribution companies.

The grid has experienced multiple failures in recent years, with the most recent outage affecting all of Nigeria's 36 states and the capital city of Abuja before power was gradually restored across most regions.

The grid failure on Thursday resulted from a fire at one of the country's power plants, leading to significant fluctuations in electrical frequency, according to Adebayo Adebulu, Nigeria's Minister of Power, who communicated this on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Adebulu confirmed that the fire had been fully contained, and a majority of the connections had been reestablished, with full restoration anticipated shortly.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), responsible for supplying electricity to southeastern Nigeria, had previously announced a "total system" collapse in a statement, with their spokesperson, Emeka Ezeh, explaining that they were unable to provide service to customers due to the situation.

Power generation hit zero early on Thursday but had gradually increased to 273 megawatts (MW) by 10:30 GMT, significantly below the daily average of 4,100MW, as indicated by data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria. The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, which serves parts of northern Nigeria, expressed their intention to restore power supply once the national grid was operational again.

In Nigeria, the reliability of grid power supply remains inconsistent, prompting households and businesses to rely on diesel and petrol generators. However, the costs of petrol and diesel have more than doubled this year following the government's decision to end long-standing subsidies, leaving many households and businesses struggling to find alternative power sources. In 2022, Nigeria's grid experienced at least four collapses, often attributed to technical issues.

Despite having an installed capacity of 12,500MW, Nigeria currently generates only a quarter of that capacity. President Bola Tinubu has pledged to enhance power supply by permitting state governments to establish their own power plants, aiming to stimulate the country's sluggish economic growth.