PeakNews Online
Nigeria experienced another nationwide blackout on Saturday as the national electricity grid collapsed, reducing power output to a mere 70.60 megawatts at around 4 PM. This marks the seventh grid collapse in 2024, with previous incidents recorded on February 4, March 11, March 12, March 28, April 10, and April 15.
During the inauguration of the 31-member Presidential Economic Coordination Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, President Bola Tinubu labeled the country’s current electricity generation as “shameful.”
“We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria,” President Tinubu stated. “We need to work together to improve our oil and gas sector, and we must also increase electricity generation, as well as distribution throughout the country. We are determined to do that with your cooperation, collaboration, and recommendations. As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5GW of electricity.”
According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), data from the ‘Nigeria Grid: Generation Profile’ showed that the country’s power generation initially rose from 3,788.63MW to 3,976.24MW by 10 AM on Saturday. However, it subsequently plummeted to 1,075.08MW at 3 PM and further to 70.60MW by 4 PM. At the time of the collapse, only the Trans-Amadi Gas Turbine Power Plant in Rivers State was contributing to the grid, generating a minimal 0.80MW. By 5 PM, power generation had slightly increased to 72.30MW as TCN engineers worked to restore the grid.
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) confirmed the collapse, indicating that all its interfaces with TCN stations were out of supply, affecting customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states.
“The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company wishes to inform its esteemed customers of a general system collapse which occurred at 15:09 hours today, July 6, 2024. This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network. Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. We are on standby awaiting detailed information on the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre, Osogbo,” stated Emeka Ezeh, EEDC’s Head of Corporate Communications.
Similarly, the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company announced on X (formerly Twitter), “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to the system collapse of the national grid.”
The Kano Electricity Distribution Company also released a statement: “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to the system collapse of the national grid. The collapse occurred at about 3:10 PM, hence the loss of supply in all our outgoing feeders. The power supply shall be restored as soon as the national grid is powered back. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”
The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company appealed to its customers in a statement titled “Notice of System Collapse,” explaining that the disruption was due to the grid collapse at 15:08 hours and that efforts were being made to restore power.
As of 6 PM on Saturday, data from the TCN Discos load profile site indicated that all eight distribution companies (Discos) had 0.00MW load allocation.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
