Egbin Power Plc, Nigeria’s largest electricity generation plant, has been forced offline and disconnected from the national grid since Tuesday, April 28, following a fatal industrial accident that claimed the life of a contractor working inside its lagoon-based pump house, multiple sources have told SaharaReporters.
Egbin Power Plant is Nigeria’s largest thermal power station. Located in Lagos State, it has an installed capacity of 1,320 MW, comprising six units of 220 MW each, and contributes over 16% of the total electricity generated to the national grid. It is operated by Egbin Power PLC.
According to sources who spoke to SaharaReporters, the incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, when a diver engaged for underwater operations inside the plant’s lagoon water pump system reportedly fell into the water during maintenance work and was tragically caught in a running pump impeller, leading to his death.
The contractor was said to have been working inside the pump house lagoon environment to retrieve or stabilise a pumping machine that had fallen into the water section of the facility.
However, the situation turned fatal when the equipment unexpectedly came into operation while the diver was still inside the restricted area.
“The diver went in to carry out a recovery operation inside the lagoon water pump system. Unfortunately, the pump came on unexpectedly and he was trapped and killed by the impeller,” one source familiar with the incident told SaharaReporters.
Following the incident, operations at the affected section of the plant were immediately suspended, leading to a broader shutdown of the facility as safety protocols were activated.
Sources further confirmed that Egbin Power Plc, which is operated under a joint venture structure involving Sahara Power Group and KEPCO, has since been taken off the national grid as engineers and safety officials continue investigations into the circumstances surrounding the accident.
The contracting firm for which the deceased worked, and which was responsible for the underwater drilling and maintenance operations at the plant, has been identified as Browndive Underwater Services.
The company is said to specialise in underwater industrial operations, including pump maintenance and lagoon-based infrastructure servicing.
One of its clients is Egbin Power Plc. Other clients of the company are Honeywell Oil and Gas, M.R.S group of companies, Equitorial Energy, Golden Shipping Co. Nigeria Limited, Fleet Coordinator Nigeria Limited, Morlap Shipping Nigeria Limited, Bricks Mustern Mattoni Limited, Management Enterprises Limited, Eko Support Services Limited, and Blue Sea Nigeria Limited.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Egbin Power Plc nor Browndive Underwater Services had issued an official public statement on the incident.
Efforts to restore operations remain uncertain as safety assessments continue, with insiders suggesting that full resumption of power generation may depend on the outcome of ongoing investigations into the fatal accident.
Authorities are also expected to review operational safety protocols at the facility following the incident, which has raised fresh concerns about contractor safety in critical national infrastructure environments.
–SaharaReporters.
