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By Daniel Adaji
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has denied reports of a nationwide grid collapse, stating that the national grid remained stable during last Thursday’s incident and only experienced a temporary transmission trip around the Onitsha axis.
In a statement issued by its management, the system operator said the disturbance recorded on February 19, 2026, did not amount to a system collapse as widely reported in parts of the media.
“Our attention been drawn to certain media reports (Punch Newspaper of Thursday, 19 February, 2026) alleging that a ‘system collapse’ occurred at approximately 11:54hrs on Thursday, 19th February 2026, resulting in a total blackout across the South-East region,” the statement read.
The clarification follows reports which claimed that a system failure plunged the South-East into darkness around midday on Thursday.
But NISO said that account misrepresented what truly happened on the grid.
“We wish to categorically state that no system collapse occurred on the Nigerian National Grid on the said date and time,” the operator stated.
Providing technical details, NISO explained that at approximately 11:47am, a protection trip was recorded on some 330kV transmission lines around the Onitsha Transmission Station. That trip, it noted, triggered a temporary and localized outage along specific transmission corridors.
“The tripping of these lines led to a temporary and localized outage affecting certain areas supplied through the impacted transmission corridors, including portions of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) networks,” it said.
The disturbance was limited in scope, affecting only parts of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company distribution networks, not the entire country as suggested in the reports.
A system collapse typically involves a widespread loss of synchronism across the grid, sharp frequency deviations, and a near-total shutdown of power generation nationwide. According to NISO, none of those conditions occurred on Thursday.
“However, the national grid remained stable and fully operational. Generation across other regions was not disrupted. System frequency remained within acceptable operational limits and there was no widespread loss of synchronism or nationwide blackout, conditions that would characterize a system collapse,” the statement added.
It disclosed that the affected transmission lines have since been restored and electricity supply reinstated to impacted locations.
While acknowledging the inconvenience experienced by customers within the affected corridors, the operator urged caution in reporting grid incidents.
“We urge stakeholders, media organizations, and members of the public to desist from rumors and rely only on verified technical updates from NISO which remains the only authentic source of information on all grid events,” it said.
NISO maintained that the Nigerian National Grid remains operational and under continuous technical supervision to guarantee reliability, resilience and system security.