Nigeria's electricity grid collapses for the second time in a month

High-tension electrical power lines on the outskirt of Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. [Reuters]

Nigeria's national electricity grid has collapsed for the second time in a month, the federal ministry of power said on Saturday, leaving the parts of the country it serves, including capital Abuja and Africa's biggest city Lagos, without power.

The power ministry said the outage had occurred overnight. It gave no estimate of when the grid, which serves around 117 million people, would be back in operation.

The ministry said in a statement that a "detailed investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the recurring grid failure is ongoing", as was the process of restoring supply.

A man arranges several phone batteries for charging in a store in Maiduguri, Nigeria. [Reuters]

While power outages in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, are common, a total system collapse is not.

Nigeria has installed capacity of 12,500 megawatts but on a good day produces only a quarter of that, leaving many Nigerians and businesses reliant on diesel-powered generators. Diesel prices have more than doubled since the start of the year.

The nation's sclerotic power grid, and its precarious energy supply, are often cited by businesses as a key issue hindering growth in Africa's most populous country.