Blackout as national grid collapses again

TNT Newsline July 28, 2021 2 minutes read

By KINGSLEY JEREMIAH, Abuja

Nigeria’s electricity grid has again collapsed leaving parts of the country without power supply.

The grid, operated from Osogbo, Osun State, by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) failed at about 12:26 pm on Wednesday.

The national electricity grid has failed electricity consumers more than 128 times since the nation’s power sector was privatised in 2013.

Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), the umbrella body of distribution companies, had earlier blamed the situation on the obsolete, analogue systems being used by the TCN.

Some utility companies had issued public notices about the inability to power consumers due to the challenge.

“We have been unable to serve our customers in Niger, Kogi and Nasarawa states as well as a significant portion of the entire Federal Capital Territory,” a notice by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company had said.

Urging the public for patience and promising to restore power across its franchise area as soon as there was an improvement in load allocation, AEDC said: “only 20MW has been allocated to AEDC as against the over 400MW that we have been receiving in recent times.”

Dr Joy Ogaji, Executive Secretary at the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), had earlier decried the impact of system collapse on power infrastructure and the chaos it creates in the form of monetary setbacks for activities in hospitals, airports, and others.

The Guardian had earlier reported that the development has left huge distrust in the electricity market, as most corporate bodies now deploy off-grid solutions, including power-generating sets to escape the impacts of persistent failure, especially on critical equipment. (The Guardian)