
Nigeria’s weak electricity grid system collapsed again yesterday barely 24 hours after a committee set up by the Federal Government to end the national power grid incessant collapses submitted its report.
The collapse, the second time this week and the 10th in 2024 left the country without public power supply with power generation and distribution companies taking huge financial hits and customers expressing frustrations.
Meanwhile, power sector stakeholders have warned that the incessant national grid collapse may persist, except urgent steps are taken to address the several challenges affecting the power sector. These factors they said include obsolete equipment, inadequate gas supply, improper coordination of plants and gas pipelines, lack of operating/spinning reserve and voltage support scheme, lack of reliable Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, SCADA, vandalism, tripping of critical infrastructure lines, lack of reliable communication facility, lack of visibility on the DISCOs network and corruption.
Data from the National System Operator showed that the grid, which had been recovering from the collapse that occurred October 6th, had peaked at 4,360.8MW on Wednesday with lowest generation at 1,454.64MW. The NSO data indicated that the grid supplied 2,709.45MW as of 11am yesterday but dropped dramatically to 4.5MW at 12pm with only Afam VI (3.7MW) and Omoku (0.8MW) power plants on the grid.
It, however, began a gradual recovery at 1pm reaching 104.8MW with Azura IPP (91MW) back on the grid.
In an update on the latest power supply setback, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, attributed it to “a sudden rise in frequency from 50.33Hz to 51.44Hz”.
TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah said recovery efforts were ongoing to restore the grid.
“TCN wishes to inform the public that the national grid experienced a disturbance at approximately 11:29 AM this morning, caused by a sudden rise in frequency from 50.33Hz to 51.44Hz. Recovery efforts began immediately, and the Abuja Axis was restored within 28 minutes. Recovery is still ongoing.
“The frequency spike was caused by issues encountered at one of TCN’s substations, which had to be shut down to prevent further complications. In addition to this, we are actively engaged in significant repair work on several critical transmission lines and substations. This includes the 330kV transmission lines along the Shiroro–Mando axis, major upgrades at the Jebba Transmission Substation, and the restoration of the second Ugwuaji–Apir 330kV transmission line.
“Furthermore, following the submission of the investigative report on the causes of previous grid collapses, we have begun addressing the identified weaknesses in the transmission system. Efforts are being made to close the gaps highlighted in the report, and to enhance the overall stability and resilience of the grid. These efforts include both technical upgrades and strategic interventions based on the committee’s recommendations.
VANGUARD