Businesses, banks, and manufacturers in Lagos and parts of Ogun State may lose a lot of money as a 25-day power cut begins. The electricity companies, Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution, made separate announcements last Friday that there will be daily blackouts in Lagos and some areas in Ogun State, like Agbara. Eko DisCo said the power outage will happen every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting July 28 and ending on August 21, 2025. Ikeja Electric also confirmed that most parts of Lagos will be affected.
The electricity companies explained that this power cut is happening because the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will be doing maintenance work on the Omotosho–Ikeja West power line. Ikeja Electric supplies electricity to a large part of Lagos, while Eko DisCo serves the southern areas of the state and Agbara in Ogun. These areas include many businesses, and Lagos itself is the centre of business activities in Nigeria.
According to Lagos State’s Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Biodun Ogunleye, people in Lagos spend around N13 trillion every month on electricity. The blackout could also reduce the income of the electricity companies, as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s report for the first quarter of 2025 shows that Ikeja Electric and Eko DisCo collected N101 billion and N105 billion in revenue. With no power during business hours, they could earn less, and this will only make the power sector’s money problems worse.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, who leads the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, shared his thoughts on the matter. He said the power cut will cost businesses and the economy a lot of money. He explained that many businesses will have to switch to using alternative sources of power, such as diesel or gas, which are more expensive than electricity from the grid. This will lead to higher running costs and affect how much work businesses can do.
Some businesses like hospitals, hotels, supermarkets, and factories cannot shut down. They need to run 24 hours a day, which means they will now rely on costly generators. Even though some people complain about the high cost of power from the grid, it’s still cheaper than using diesel or gas. Because of the blackout, some businesses may have to reduce their working hours to save on energy costs, and this will lower productivity.
Dr. Yusuf also pointed out that Lagos uses a big part of the country’s power, so any blackout there will hurt the national economy. He estimates that businesses may lose hundreds of billions of Naira due to this long power cut. Still, he believes the power cut is necessary. He said the national power grid has not been reliable, mainly because of poor maintenance and old equipment. If the government is now serious about fixing and improving the grid, then this temporary sacrifice is worth it.
He explained that the power grid is one of the weakest parts of Nigeria’s electricity system. Because it has not been properly maintained, we’ve had many power failures. Fixing the grid now will help reduce these problems in the future. Even though the blackout is tough on everyone, it’s a necessary step to make the country’s electricity supply better.
