Nigeria’s power grid on Thursday encountered a system disturbance bringing to the 10th time in 2024 it faced problems that led to non-generation and distribution of electricity to consumers.
According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the disturbance that occurred at 11:29am was caused by a sudden rise in frequency from 50.33Hz to 51.44Hz.
A statement by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the frequency spike was caused by issues encountered at one of its substations, which had to be shut down to prevent further complications.
The grid collapse was coming two days after another collapse on Tuesday, which the TCN blamed on line tripping on one of its transmission lines and a day the minister of power received a report on the cause of grid collapse in October.
Mbah, in her statement, urged Nigerians that while it is working on the repair of the cause of the collapse and improvements are underway, some degree of instability in the system is likely to persist until all major works are completed.
“We acknowledge the impact of these disruptions and ask for the understanding and patience of the public during this challenging period.”
She added it is actively engaged in significant repair work on several critical transmission lines and substations, saying that “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.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has ordered TCN and all other relevant agencies of the ministry to begin the immediate implementation of the recommendations of the inter-agency committee, set up to address the incessant grid collapses in the power sector.
The Special Adviser to the Minister on Strategic Communications and Media, Hon. Bolaji Tunji quoted the minister as saying that all relevant agencies in the ministry must brace up for the immediate implementation of the recommendations of the committee, which was submitted on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
Timeline of grid collapse in 2024
The first grid collapse in 2024 occurred on February 4. Data from the Independent System Operator showed generation dropped to 59.90 Megawatt (MW) from 2,658.75MW.
This was followed by another one on March 28 with generation dropping to 0.00MW from 3.843MW. On April 15, generation dropped to 64.70MW from 2,583.77MW. The fourth incident was on July 6 with generation dropping to 120.60MW from 1,502MW.
The fifth one was on August 5 with generation dropping to 1,255MW from 3,241MW, and was further witnessed on October 14 dropping to 42.70MW from 3,924MW. The seventh incident was on October 15 that led power generation to drop to 48.60 MW from 1,884MW. The eighth collapse on the national grid was on October 19, which saw generation dropping to 47MW from 3,759MW.
The ninth occurred on November 5 with generation dropping to 61.60MW from 2,711MW and the last incident was on November 7, as generation dropped to 0.00MW from 2,709MW.
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