Nigeria Plunged Into Darkness as National Grid Suffers Total Collapse, Throwing Millions Into Year-End Blackout Just Days Before 2026

For the ninth time this year, the Nigerian national power grid has buckled, leaving the entire country in a state of total darkness and halting commercial activities during the critical year-end rush.

The collapse, which occurred today, Monday, December 29, 2025, at exactly 11:24 AM, saw power generation nationwide plummet to zero megawatts. From the industrial hubs of Lagos and Kano to the administrative center of Abuja, the blackout was instantaneous, catching millions of Nigerians off guard as they prepared for the final week of the year.

“We regret to inform our customers that the national grid experienced a system collapse,” a spokesperson for Ikeja Electric stated in a midday bulletin. “This has resulted in a loss of power supply across our entire network. We are currently awaiting instructions from the National Control Centre (NCC) in Osogbo.”

While the TCN has not yet released a definitive technical report, sources within the agency indicate that a “voltage instability” occurred following a major fault on the 330kV transmission line in the South-South region. The resulting ripple effect overwhelmed the grid’s protective systems, causing a total shutdown to prevent permanent damage to the national infrastructure.

The timing of the blackout is particularly painful for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) already navigating the complexities of the newly signed 2025 Tax Act. “We are trying to balance our books for the year, and now we are spending our remaining margins on diesel,” lamented Tunde Ola, a cold-room operator in Ibadan. “With the grid failing like this, the ‘Renewed Hope’ for steady power feels like a distant dream.”

By late evening, Ndidi Mbah, the General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, provided a glimmer of hope, confirming that restoration efforts had reached 65% completion in the northern and western regions. “Our engineers are working tirelessly to stabilize the frequency. We ask for the public’s patience as we bring the gas-fired plants back online,” she noted.

As the nation waits for the lights to return, the Minister of Power has hinted at “severe sanctions” for any technical negligence identified during the investigation. For most Nigerians, however, the priority remains a stable entry into 2026—a goal that currently rests on the fragile wires of a recovering grid.