The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has addressed recent media reports regarding a potential collapse of the national grid last Thursday.
The organization, in a statement released yesterday Sunday, clarified that there was no system collapse, but rather a protection trip at the Onitsha Transmission Station that resulted in a temporary outage.
NISO’s management emphasized the importance of accurate reporting and reassured the public that the national grid remains stable.
They urged media outlets to verify information to prevent the spread of misinformation.
This clarification aims to alleviate concerns among citizens about the reliability of Nigeria’s electrical infrastructure.
“Our attention has 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.
“We wish to categorically state that no system collapse occurred on the Nigerian National Grid on the said date and time.
“At approximately 11:47hrs, a protection trip was recorded on some 330kV transmission lines around the Onitsha Transmission Station.
“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,” NISO said.
The system operator assured that the national grid remained stable and fully operational as 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.
“Affected transmission lines have since been restored, and supply reinstated to the impacted locations.
“While we acknowledge the inconvenience experienced by electricity consumers within the affected corridors, 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 added.
NISO insisted that the “Nigerian National Grid remains operational and under continuous technical supervision to ensure reliability, resilience, and system security.”
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