Efforts to restore National grid ongoing–TCN

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced on Tuesday that efforts to restore the national grid, which collapsed on Monday, are nearing completion.

According to a statement from TCN’s Public Affairs General Manager, Ndidi Mbah, the national grid experienced a partial disturbance on Monday, October 14, 2024, at around 6:48 p.m.

Mbah explained that grid recovery began immediately with the Azura power station initiating the blackstart process. By 10:24 a.m. on Tuesday, grid restoration had reached an advanced stage, but encountered a minor setback, temporarily slowing progress.

Despite the delay, Mbah confirmed that the grid recovery process continued, with power availability restored to about 90% of substations nationwide.

The statement also noted that electricity supply had been restored to the Abuja area and other major distribution centers across the country. However, the partial disturbance did not impact the Ibom Gas generating station, which remained operational and supplied power to areas in the South-South, including Eket, Ekim, Uyo, and Itu.

Mbah stated that an investigation into the cause of the incident would begin once the grid was fully restored.

This collapse is one of several that have occurred this year, with previous incidents reported on February 4, March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5. TCN has yet to issue further comments on the latest collapse, but in April, the Executive Director of the Independent System Operator (ISO), Nafisat Ali, outlined various factors contributing to Nigeria’s frequent grid failures. These include inadequate gas supply, poor coordination between plants and pipelines, and limited power generation availability.