Ever since Nigeria had her gained independence over 6 decades ago, the nation has suffered the lack of power supply which has been a hindrance to national, infrastructural and industrial development. In order to understand this dilemma, we trace back to 2005 under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration with the introduction of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA). This policy was aimed to break the monopoly of the National Electric Power Authority popularly known amongst Nigerians as NEPA, which had ownership over electricity generation, transmission, and distribution in the nation except a few private companies that generated power and could only sell it to NEPA.
The act was established in order to attract private investors into the electricity sector, which lead to the unbundling of NEPA into the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), to take over the assets and manage the sector during privatization and the unbundling into 18 successor companies; 6 power Generation Companies (GenCos), 11 Distribution Companies (DisCos) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), tasked with transmitting electricity and maintenance of the national grid. The Act is still in effect but was amended in 2023 under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow state governments to generate, distribute, and regulate electricity within their regions. The amendment aims to improve power supply by decentralizing electricity management. A national grid collapse happens when the system loses balance between power generation and consumption, this is because Nigeria operates a single national grid all regions depend on one central system unlike countries with multiple independent grids, Nigeria’s grid is centralized, so failures spread quickly. If a major line or power station fails, the entire system can trip.
Understanding The Network
A good analogy for understanding the flow of electricity will be the internet. Power plants (GenCos) act as Data centers as they generate electricity just like data centers generate information. Transmission lines (TCN) function like Internet backbone cables, high-voltage lines carry electricity across the country, just like fiber-optic cables carry internet data. Substations will be Internet routers that step down electricity for distribution, just like routers distribute internet connections and finally Distribution companies (DisCos) act as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), they deliver electricity to homes, just as ISPs provide internet access. While most Nigerians are familiar with the term, “national grid”, a lot do not have a full knowledge on what it is. The grid is a network, not a single place it consists of transmission stations and substations across Nigeria, overhead and underground transmission lines that connect these stations connecting power plants to distribution companies across the country. The main operational headquarters managing grid stability is in Osogbo, Osun State.
A common misconception amongst Nigerians is that all successor companies are owned and run by the government, but they are run by private groups like Transcorp and Sahara that generate and sell power to the government. Other misconceptions are popular DisCos like; Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) are run by the government
The Blame Game TCN
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) finds itself battling internal struggles including; unpaid debts, delay in disbursement and slow project execution. One of the biggest frustrations comes from DisCos owing TCN billions of naira in debts that have piled up over the years, making it hard for TCN to pay GenCos in return. While there have been bailouts for DisCos TCN hasn’t received the same level of support. TCN has also faced allegations of mismanagement and corruption. In 2023, senior officials publicly rejected claims of project mishandling, even challenging accusers to present evidence a sign of the tension within the company itself.
The grid is a network, not a single place—it consists of Transmission stations and substations across Nigeria. Overhead and underground transmission lines that connect these stations. The grid is controlled by TCN’s National Control Center in Osogbo, which manages power flow across the country.
Nigeria’s part in electricity failure
The relationship between the general public and the DisCos have proved to be strenuous relationship largely due to misinformation, lack of constant power supply and economic hardships. This frustration has made some misinformed Nigerians to take violent actions on some of this DisCos field workers, often leading loss of life or damaged properties. The field workers also face the threat of banditry like on the 23rd of January 2023 in Ugbiyoko Community, Edo State when a staff member of the local electricity distribution company was hospitalized after being attacked by youths while attempting to restore power. The assailants broke both of his legs, reportedly due to frustration over a month-long power outage in the community. The latest incident was on November 2024 in Shiroro, Niger State when a convoy of 80 security operatives were ambushed by approximately 200 Boko Haram insurgents leaving seven members of the protection agency missing, and the attack led to significant disruptions in power supply. These incidents highlight dangers faced by electricity workers, often stemming from public dissatisfaction with power supply issues or enforcement actions such as disconnections for non-payment.
Vandalism and theft have disrupted power supply, leading to financial losses, infrastructure damage, and operational challenges. Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Between January 2022 and February 2024, TCN incurred approximately ₦12.8 billion in expenses to repair 117 vandalized power towers, each costing about ₦110 million to fix which leads to prolonged outages, disrupting businesses and daily life.
More mitigation measures have to be taken like deploying surveillance and increasing patrols around critical infrastructure, Educating the public on the dangers of vandalism and introduction of islanding systems in Nigeria, particularly, which are currently operational in Lagos and Kano but do not cover entire states; instead, they serve specific areas and institutions.
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