Nigeria's Persistent Power Struggles: The Tale of Recurrent Blackouts

Nigeria's electricity grid suffered its tenth collapse this year, causing widespread blackouts in major cities including Abuja, Lagos, and Kano. Despite its potential to generate 13,000 megawatts, weak infrastructure limits transmission to 4,000 megawatts. A recent law allows states to generate power, aiming to ease the burden on the national grid.

Nigeria experienced widespread blackouts on Thursday as its electricity grid collapsed for the tenth time this year, affecting major cities such as Abuja, Lagos, and Kano. The Transmission Company of Nigeria cited a 'partial disturbance of the system' as the reason for this latest power outage, offering no further details.

Frequent grid failures plague Nigeria, largely due to inadequate investment in the power sector. Although the country has the capacity to produce 13,000 megawatts of electricity, it can only transmit 4,000 megawatts owing to frail infrastructure, according to the transmission company.

Compounding the issue, insurgents have been known to sabotage power lines. In response to these challenges, Nigeria passed a law last year allowing states to generate and distribute electricity, hopefully attracting investors and easing the national grid's load.

(With inputs from agencies.)