The Federal Government has given Nigerians fresh hope of improved electricity supply within the next 48 to 72 hours as it moves to address the power generation and transmission challenges responsible for prolonged blackouts across parts of the country.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, gave the assurance on Friday, November 6, 2026, while providing an update on the worsening electricity situation affecting households and businesses, particularly in Lagos and other parts of the country.
In a statement titled “Update on Power Situation”, the minister acknowledged the hardship caused by the outages, explaining that the government was working with relevant electricity operators to restore affected generating units and improve supply.
According to Tegbe, the first affected generating units are expected to return to operation within 48 to 72 hours, while additional measures are being taken to address the problems affecting the national electricity grid.
Three Major Reasons Behind Nigeria’s Electricity Crisis
The minister identified three major factors responsible for the recent decline in electricity supply.
1. Maintenance at Egbin Power Station
Tegbe explained that planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station in Lagos had significantly reduced electricity generation.
Egbin is Nigeria’s largest thermal power-generating station and contributes approximately 16 per cent of electricity supplied to the national grid.
The reduction in its generating capacity has therefore affected the quantity of electricity available for distribution to consumers.
2. Inadequate Gas Supply to Power Stations
The minister also identified gas supply constraints affecting some thermal power stations as another major reason for the electricity shortage.
Nigeria relies heavily on gas-powered plants for electricity generation. Consequently, inadequate gas supply limits the ability of these facilities to generate sufficient electricity.
The development has forced grid operators to introduce load shedding in some areas to manage the available electricity.
3. Sabotage of Critical Transmission Lines
Another challenge identified by the minister is the sabotage of critical electricity transmission lines.
According to him, the damage has restricted alternative routes for transmitting electricity to some locations, particularly Lagos.
This has made it more difficult to maintain stable electricity supply in affected communities.
Minister Gives 48–72-Hour Timeline for Improvement
Providing details of the government’s intervention, Tegbe said efforts were underway to restore affected generating units in phases.
He stated:
“My team and I are working to return the affected generating units to service in phases, with the first units coming back online within the next 48 to 72 hours.
“We are also working with operators to improve gas supply and accelerate repairs to the damaged infrastructure.”
The minister thanked affected electricity consumers for their patience, promising further updates as electricity supply gradually improves.
TCN, Ikeja Electric Disagree Over Causes of Blackout
Meanwhile, the electricity crisis has generated disagreement between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Ikeja Electric over the causes of recent power interruptions.
The disagreement followed outages recorded on November 3 and 4, which prompted Ikeja Electric to apologise to customers on some Band A feeders for failing to meet the minimum daily electricity supply requirement of 20 hours.
However, TCN rejected Ikeja Electric’s explanation that grid instability was responsible for the interruptions.
The transmission company attributed the decline in electricity supply mainly to inadequate gas supply to thermal power stations and reduced hydroelectric generation.
TCN also provided a breakdown of interruptions affecting feeders supplying Ikeja Electric:
- 68 per cent: Frequency-control load shedding resulting from low electricity generation.
- 26 per cent: Distribution-related issues, including alleged failure to comply with allocated power, faults and maintenance on Ikeja Electric’s network.
- 6 per cent: TCN’s planned maintenance, switching operations and transmission-line limitations.
TCN maintained that it could only transmit electricity generated and made available to it, insisting that the Nigerian Independent System Operator had not identified a transmission network failure as the cause of the interruptions.
What Nigerians Should Expect in the Next 72 Hours
The minister’s announcement has raised expectations among electricity consumers who have endured prolonged blackouts, particularly residents and business owners in Lagos and other affected locations.
However, Nigerians should understand that the 48-to-72-hour assurance is specifically for the return of the first affected generating units to operation. It does not guarantee uninterrupted electricity nationwide within three days.
Actual improvement will depend on how quickly generating units are restored, gas supply improves and damaged transmission infrastructure is repaired.
For households, small businesses, manufacturers and other electricity-dependent establishments, the coming days will therefore be important in determining whether the government’s assurance will translate into noticeable improvements.
The Federal Government is expected to provide further updates as the restoration efforts progress.
Source: Punch Newspapers, November 7, 2026; Nairametrics, November 7, 2026; TheCable.
Editorial clarification: The 72-hour promise should not be presented as a guarantee of 24-hour electricity nationwide. The minister promised that the first affected generating units would return to service within that period.