Blackout across Nigeria as citizens groan

Blackout was experienced by many Nigerians in major cities across the country on Sunday as the national grid collapsed first time in 2024.

In a statement, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said “The grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 11:21 hours with Ibom power islanded, feeding Eket, Ekim, Itu & Uyo transmission substations, during the period of partial disturbance”.

“TCN initiated immediate restoration of the affected part of the grid, and presently, the grid is fully restored,” said a spokesperson for the TCN, Ndidi Mbah.

“Before the incident, total generation on the grid was 3,901.25 MW at 08:00Hours, a little over three hours before time of the partial collapse. It is important to note that low power generation has persisted since January 2024, to date, exacerbating daily due to the lingering gas constraint.

According to the National Control Center (NCC), the Internet of Things (IoT) revealed that just before the grid collapse, the Sapele Steam & Egbin Substations lost a total of 29.32MW & 343.84MW at 11:20:14Hrs & 11:20:17Hrs respectively, totalling 373.16MW.

“This, combined with the current low power generation due to gas constraints, caused the imbalance leading to the partial system disturbance.

“Gas constraints continue to impact grid flexibility and stability. Ensuring sufficient gas supply to power generating stations is crucial for grid stability as sufficient generation allows for better grid management in the event of sudden generation losses like this.

“TCN will investigate the cause of tripping of Sapele Steam & Egbin power generating units.”