Extended blackout looms in Lagos as Egbin power station shuts down

Electricity supply across Lagos has come under severe strain following a sudden shutdown at the Egbin Power Station and a simultaneous fault on a major transmission line, the Nigerian Independent System Operator has said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the operator warned that the twin disruptions could trigger an extended blackout in the state, which remains Nigeria’s largest electricity market.

According to the agency, the incident began late on April 28 when Egbin Power Station suffered a major technical failure that forced a complete halt in generation. Output reportedly plunged from about 641 megawatts to zero within minutes.

“The Nigerian Independent System Operator wishes to inform the general public of a significant reduction in power generation currently affecting electricity supply across the country, particularly within the Lagos region.

“Egbin Power Station, which is the largest electricity-generating plant on the national grid and a major contributor to daily power supply in Nigeria, experienced a major operational disturbance.

“At approximately 8:21 p.m. on April 28, 2026, Egbin Power Station recorded a total loss of generation, dropping from about 641MW to zero output.

“This incident was caused by the failure of the plant’s central compressor, in addition to a malfunction of the circulating water pump system, which necessitated an immediate shutdown of all generating units to safeguard the facility.

‘The disruption has also sparked unconfirmed reports of a fatal incident involving a contractor, although officials have yet to verify the claim or provide further details.

“The situation has been aggravated by a separate fault on the Osogbo to Ikeja West 330kV transmission line, a key route for delivering electricity into Lagos. The operator said the outage has limited the ability to move available power into the city.

“Power supply to the Lagos region is currently further restricted due to the forced outage of the Osogbo–Ikeja West 330kV transmission line, thereby limiting the evacuation of available generation into the Lagos load centre,” the statement added

With both generation and transmission affected, authorities have begun rationing electricity to stabilise the grid and prevent a wider collapse.

“Consequently, this loss of generation has created a significant supply shortfall, necessitating immediate load-shedding measures to maintain grid stability and prevent a wider system disturbance.”
Emergency measures are already in place, including redistributing available electricity among distribution companies and prioritising supply to critical infrastructure.

“System operators have since deployed contingency measures, including the reallocation of available load across distribution companies, with priority given to critical national infrastructure.
“In addition, efforts are ongoing to optimise generation from other available power plants to mitigate the impact of this development on electricity consumers.”

The operator apologised to affected customers, especially residents of Lagos and nearby areas where outages have been most severe.

“We acknowledge the inconvenience this situation has caused electricity consumers, especially within Lagos and surrounding areas, and we assure the public that all relevant stakeholders are working closely to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

Egbin Power Station, located in Ikorodu, is the largest thermal plant connected to the national grid, with an installed capacity exceeding 1,300 megawatts.