Blackout leaves 117 million people without power

Nigeria. Africa’s most populous country has once again been hit with a major blackout as the country’s national grid collapses, leaving 117 million people without power.

According to statement on Saturday April 9^th, Nigeria’s Energy Ministry said the national power grid had collapsed for the second time in a month.

The network that supplies 117 million people left people without power overnight, with the ministry unable to give any idea of when the power would be restored. According to the ministry further investigations are needed to identify the cause of the problem.

Nigeria’s power grid is notably unstable with many businesses relying heavily on generators to keep the doors open, but countrywide outages are very rare.

Nigeria currently produced insufficient energy to support its 200 million residents, with many relying on generators. But with fuel prices rising, the costs of producing electricity in this way is becoming more and more prohibitive.

The fragility of the power grid is a major disadvantage for the country, hampering development and the creation of businesses and jobs. It is however not the only country in Africa that is struggling with the power generation despite the abundance of natural resources. South Africa’s grid is also overloaded due to a lack of planning for the future and the mismanagement of the country’s electricity supplier, affecting productivity and the growth of the economy.

A blackout of this size is very unusual even for a country like Nigeria, with 117 million people in the dark and without power.

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