Nigeria’s National Power Grid has collapsed again yesterday leaving the entire country without electricity supply.
The latest collapse followed weeks of bickering among operators that have led to poor power generation by the electricity generation companies (GenCos).
Checks by Vanguard on the National System Operator’s portal showed that as of 7 pm last night no plant was on the grid.
As at the time of filing this report, an emergency meeting of the operators with the government summoned by the Minister of Power was still ongoing.
The Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) had on Sunday blamed poor management of the grid by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) as one of the factors responsible for low power generation in the country.
GenCos said most of their turbines have been damaged by inefficient management of the grid.
APGC Executive Secretary, Mrs Joy Ogaji said: “The GenCos are supposed to start and stop at most 20 times a year but in Nigeria, the GenCos start and stop 365 days every year and this wear and tear are affecting the plants which cause maintenance issues at a time when they should be optimal.
“Last year GenCos engaged an expert to investigate these issues, it was found that the ramp down and ramp-up has affected the turbines. For instance, Siemens has told Geregu to shut down the machines because if the start-stop continues it will destroy the three turbines until after maintenance. General Electric has also notified Calabar on a similar issue and awaiting maintenance.”
