Many Nigerians faced blackouts in major cities throughout the country on Sunday as the national grid fell for the first time in 2024.
According to a statement from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), “the grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 11:21 hours, with Ibom power islanded, feeding Eket, Ekim, Itu, and Uyo transmission substations during the period of partial disturbance.”
“TCN initiated immediate restoration of the affected part of the grid, and the grid is now completely restored,” stated a TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah.
“Prior to the incident, total grid generation was 3,901.25 MW at 08:00 hours, a little more than three hours before the partial collapse. It is vital to highlight that low power generation has remained since January 2024, worsening everyday due to the ongoing gas shortage.
According to the National Control Center (NCC), the Internet of Things (IoT) reported that right before the grid collapse, the Sapele Steam and Egbin Substations lost 29.32MW and 343.84MW, respectively, for a total of 373.16MW.
“This, combined with the existing low power generation due to gas constraints, resulted in the imbalance and partial system disturbance.
“Gas restrictions continue to limit grid flexibility and stability. Ensuring adequate gas supply to power generation plants is critical for grid stability because adequate generation allows for better grid management in the event of unexpected generation losses such as this.
“TCN will investigate the cause of tripping of Sapele Steam & Egbin power generating units.”