The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has issued a clarification regarding an incident that occurred on Friday, March 7, 2025, stating that the national grid did not experience a collapse as previously speculated. In an interview, TCN’s spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, explained that the situation was not a collapse but a “line tripping.” She added, “It’s line tripping, not grid collapse,” in response to rumors circulating about a nationwide power failure.
According to Mbah, the line tripping incident, which took place at 2:00 pm, caused a reduction in electricity supply allocation, leading to power outages across several areas. The temporary disruption in power supply sparked widespread speculation about a potential collapse of the national grid. Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) reported a decrease in electricity allocation from TCN, which contributed to the outages.
The Ikeja Electric Distribution Company was among the first to address the issue, notifying customers of the outage. “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, 07/03/2025, at 14:00 hours, affecting supply within our network. Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders,” the company said in a statement.
Similarly, Eko Electricity Distribution Company also acknowledged the reduced power supply, attributing the issue to TCN. “The current power situation is due to reduced power allocation from our TCN partners aimed at maintaining grid stability. The situation has resulted in unavoidable load shedding across our network,” Eko Electric explained.
This incident follows a similar situation on February 12, 2025, when Nigeria experienced power outages that affected large parts of the country. The power disruptions, which were believed to have been caused by system failures, left many areas without electricity for extended periods.
Despite the recent incidents, TCN has firmly maintained that the country has not experienced a grid collapse this year. This comes after a particularly challenging year in 2024, during which Nigeria suffered at least 11 system collapses, exacerbating the nation’s ongoing power supply challenges.
