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FG to add 817 Megawatts to National Grid – TCN
The federal government says plans are ongoing to add additional 817 Megawatts (MWs) of electricity to the national grid to boost power supply within the FCT and its environs.
Sule Abdulaziz, the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said this in Abuja while inspecting ongoing projects in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday.
Mr Abdulaziz said that the project which belonged to TCN and referred to as the Abuja Feeding Scheme, was being funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), a donor agency.
He said when completed, it would contribute an additional 1.465 transmission lines to the grid, thereby, upgrading and reinforcing electrical power supply to the FCT.
“With the additional lines, TCN capacity of transmission lines will be higher than what is in existence and this means that in future, we can build some sub-stations without upgrading the lines,” he said.
According to him, the project will add five transmission substations, 143 kilometers of 330 Kilo Volts (KVs) and 81 kilometers of 132 KV transmission lines to Abuja.
“This is part of efforts to increase transmission wheeling capacity in the FCT and environs.
“The project is categorised into six lots and is far advanced in execution above 85 per cent in total completion by December,” he said.
The managing director said that the project was designed by the current administration to ensure that in the next 50 years, there would be no need for other substations in the FCT.
“This will be adequate and it will serve the population of Abuja,” he said.
“The government while making plans for the project has in mind that if the population of FCT increases within five to 10 years, there is a master plan that the station will serve the territory in the next 50 years.
“Construction of a complete new 2x60MVA, 132/33 KV substation with 132KV line Bays at Wumba/Lokogoma including about 5km 132 underground XLPE Cable from New Apo Sub Station are ongoing,” he said.
Others are construction of a 2x150MVA 330/132/33KV substation at New Apo where the managing director frowns at the slow pace of work done by the contractor .
According to him, the contractor, General Electric, has performed abysmally.
He said the contracts for all the substations were signed at the same time, and wondered why the slow pace of work.
“We have spent a lot of money to clear their containers which entered demurrage and this money is not part of AFD grant but TCN Internally Generated Revenue which could have been used for other projects.
“We are going to push them to finish the project on time,” he said.
Sites visited include: construction of complete new 2x60Mega Volt Ampere, and 132/33KV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Substation at Gwarimpa.
Others were the Kuje 132Kv Transmission line, the 3x60MVA, 132/33kv and 4x132kv Line bay GIS, and 33KV Metal Clad Swichgear at West Main Lugbe, Substation
October 6, 2022
TCN Restores National Grid Hours After Collapse
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the national grid, which collapsed earlier on Monday, has been restored.
“The restoration of the affected part of the grid commenced immediately at 11.55 am with Osogbo/Ihovbor back to the grid followed by Jebba/Osogbo, Kainji/Jebba, Benin/Onisha, Shiroro/Kaduna, Shiroro/Katampe, and Alaoji/Ikot-Ekpene,” it said in a statement on Monday.
“Others are Lokoja/Gwagwalada, Odukpani/Ikot Ekpene, Benin/Omotosho, Oke-Aro/Ikeja west, Egbin/Oke-Aro and Kaduna/Kano.”
While explaining the cause of the incident, the TCN said it was due to “a sudden drop in system frequency, which created system instability”.
“The National Control Centre (NCC) said a full-scale investigation is being conducted to establish and ascertain the cause of the partial disturbance as this unwholesome event has resulted in aggregated generation loss,” TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said in the statement.
Earlier in the day, electricity distribution companies had informed their customers of the disruption of power, citing the collapse of the national grid.
Ikeja Electric said the national grid collapsed at 10:50 am on Monday, noting that “this has affected the transmission stations within our network and resulted in the loss of power supply to our customers”.
The DISCOs equally apologised to them, saying work was being done to fix the issue.
“We are working with our TCN partners to restore supply as soon as possible,” Eko Electricity Distribution Company also said. “We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Monday’s incident is the latest in a series of blackouts in the country owing to the incessant collapse of the national grid.
The national grid had collapsed eight times this year with the last one coming in July. It equally collapsed in June, March, and April 2022.
September 27, 2022
Again, Electricity Union Threatens To Shut Down National Grid
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), has again threatened to shut down the national grid.
According to the electricity employees, the two-week given to the Federal Government to resolve the crisis had elapsed.
Comrade Dukat Ayuba, the zonal organizing secretary, North West of NUEE, while briefing newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday, explained that while negotiation was still on-going, the shutdown of the national grid was imminent.
According to him, the so-called privatization of the sector was a scam, explaining that nine (9) years after, nothing had changed to improve its activities, especially to the consumers of electricity.
He added, “That was why we kicked against privitazing the distribution sector, because the investors don’t have the capacity and expertise. As committed Nigerians, we advised government against it. But the government was hell bent on doing so.”
He noted that the investors were still operating with obsolete equipment dating back to 35, 40, and 50 years, stating that one would expect that with the coming of the investors, they would replace the obsolete equipment but nothing had been done.
He regretted that the nation still generates 5,000 megawatts of electricity, saying that it is the same 5,000 megawatts that they used to generate, with no benefit from privitazation.
He added that the company now generates megawatts with higher tariffs, bringing hardships to the homes of millions of Nigerians and that is what all Nigerians are experiencing at the moment.
Wisdom Nwachukwu, a member of Central Executive Committe, noted that the federal government now wants to sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
He stated that they were going behind meeting with some stakeholders and that they would not allow that, as they were patriotic Nigerians that want the best for the country.
Ado Gaya, the Vice President, North West, NUEE, while elaborating further, revealed that the 16 months demanded by the electricity workers is their legitimate earnings which involved 55,000 workers.
He explained that nine years after, the workers have not received a dime, regretting that many of the workers had died, while those who were laid off were suffering with their families receiving nothing to help them make a living.
September 23, 2022
TCN Restores National Grid After System Disturbance
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the restoration of the national grid has been completed following its collapse on Wednesday.
TCN in a statement by its General Manager, Ndidi Mbah, said the national grid experienced system disturbance at about 11.27am on Wednesday, 20th, July 2022, adding that the incident was a result of sudden drop in system frequency from 49.94Hz to 47.36Hz, which created system instability.
According to reports obtained from the National Control Centre (NCC), it was precipitated by the tripping of a Unit (with a load of 106 MW) in one of the generating stations due to “Exhaust over Temperature”.
Ms Mbah said this unwholesome event, which pulled out other grid-connected Units in the plant, resulted in aggregated generation loss of 457MW. In its wake, a train of events ensued – culminating in the collapse of the national grid.
She further noted that “as obtainable in all systems, when a component of the electric power system is defective, the entire configuration is vitiated. However, inspite of setbacks encountered at the initial stage, grid restoration had almost been completed as at 11:00pm when this report was filed.”
While appreciating the kind understanding of Government and consumers of electricity within and outside the country, the GM said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry is committed to leveraging the concerted interventions instituted thus far to enhance power supply reliability so that the issue of system collapse will soon become a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, Ms Mbah asserted that a full-scale investigation is being conducted to establish the cause of this failure.
July 21, 2022
Blackout Worsens as National Grid Collapse for 5th time in 2022
There was widespread blackout across the country on Sunday following the collapse of the national power grid, making it the fifth collapse of Nigeria’s electricity grid in 2022.
It was learnt that the grid collapse on Sunday occurred around 6.49pm, leading to the shutdown of the outgoing electricity feeders of some power distribution companies.
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company in separate messages obtained by our correspondent confirmed the grid collapse.
Findings had earlier shown that the quantum of power on the grid as at 6am on Sunday was 3,628.6 megawatts, but it was gathered that this crashed significantly in the evening leading to the eventual grid collapse.
Nigeria’s power grid had collapsed twice in March and twice again in April this year, as the power generation on the system had continued to fluctuate due to various concerns such as gas constraint, water management challenges, gas pipeline vandalism, among others.
Confirming Sunday’s collapse in a notice on its verified Twitter handle, entitled, “Power Outage In Our Franchise Due To Grid Collapse,” Kaduna Disco said, “Dear esteemed customers, we regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to system collapse of the national grid.
“The collapse occured at about 18:47pm this evening hence the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders. Power supply shall be restored as soon as the national grid is powered back. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”
Also, the Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh, said the grid collapse threw five states under the Disco’s franchise area in total blackout.
A notice from the Disco, which he signed, read in part, “The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc wishes to inform her esteemed customers of a system collapse which occurred at 6.49pm this evening, Sunday, June 12, 2022.
“As a result of this development, all our outgoing feeders are out and this has affected supply to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
“We are on standby, awaiting further information on restoration of supply from the National Control Centre. Thank you.”
Reacting to this, an industry expert and legal practitioner, who doubles as President, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo, stated that though the situation was worrisome, blackouts were no longer new to some power users.
He said, “To some of the electricity consumers, there are already used to perpetual darkness. Grid collapse to them is a permanent feature.
“That means that their own grid collapse is indefinite. And when they get a flash at all of 20 minutes or an hour or two, all you will hear will be “up NEPA!”
In April, reports had it that the quantum of electricity on the grid crashed from over 3,000MW on April 8, 2022, to as low as 10MW around 21.00 hours same day.
The report further stated that another collapse of the grid occurred on Saturday, April 9, 2022, as the nation’s power system collapsed to 33MW around 01.00 hours, after it had earlier posted a peak generation of 3,281.50MW at 00.00 hours the same day.
Also, the national grid collapsed twice in March and this happened within a space of two days, a development that made the Federal Government to summon a meeting of stakeholders to address the issue.
June 13, 2022
FG Lists Steps Taken To Restore ‘Normal Supply Of Electricity’ Nationwide
The Federal Government on Saturday said it has taken several steps “towards the restoration of normal supply of electricity nationwide.”
The national grid suffered shutdowns at least twice in the past week leading to blackouts across the country amid rising prices of fuel products.
In a statement signed by Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, the government said it had made some progress to address the recent challenges.
“The Nigerian public may please recall that the national grid lost 1,110 MW generation capacity as a consequence of simultaneous disruptions in gas supply to the Okpai, Calabar and the Afam VI power plants,” the statement said.
“The available generation capacity was exacerbated by the ongoing water management regime at the Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro power plants.”
According to the Minister, the steps taken to address the situation include the following:
a. The gas pipeline affected by acts of vandalism has been restored and the Okpai power plant has resumed power generation and currently contributing an average of 300MW.
b. The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc has been directed to enter into fast-track negotiation with NAOC on an interim energy sales agreement with a view to bringing the new Okpai II power plant on the grid, thereby contributing additional 400MW of generation capacity.
c. The “pigging” of the gas pipeline supplying gas to the Odukpani power plant is scheduled for completion on March 21st, 2022, thus ramping up generation by about 400MW.
d. In order to optimise the capacity utilisation of the power plants owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd (NDPHC), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved a special gas pricing for emergency contracting of gas from the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Ltd. We expect an ongrid improvement of about 800MW generation capacity from the NDPHC plants.
e. In the medium-term, we have agreed with NGPIC (a subsidiary of NNPC) on the framework for the overhaul of the Okoloma gas processing plant thereby restoring the full capacity of the 650MW Afam VI combined cycle power plant.
f. While the recent spate of system collapse is regrettable, it was a direct consequence of a snap on 330KV transmission line. The mitigation measures for avoiding such incidence of blackouts are being impemented through several interventions including the Presidential Power Initiative.
March 19, 2022
Blackouts: We Have Recovered The National Grid – Power Minister
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, has said that the national grid, which collapsed a few days ago, has now been recovered.
He disclosed this on Wednesday during a briefing after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
Mr Aliyu said several resolutions have emerged from a series of emergency meetings held by the power ministry, where all stakeholders have extensively discussed the issues and resolved all bickering.
The minister, who likened Nigeria’s power challenge to a war situation, further maintained that the country generates up to 8,000 MW.
According to Aliyu, the shortage of gas and maintenance of generators, the fuel situation (which he argued has been addressed by the NNPC), all combined to exacerbate the problem with the national grid.
The power minister equally affirmed that the Federal Executive Council has given approval of N5 billion to open up and expand Lagos/Ogun, to reinforce power supply to that region.
March 16, 2022
Blackout : National Grid Suffers Total Collapses
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.”
March 15, 2022
National Grid Collapses for Second Time in One Month
The national power grid has collapsed for the second time in less than a month, worsening the blackout being experienced by households and businesses in parts of Nigeria.
The collapse, which occurred around 1:00pm on Monday, was confirmed by two of the electricity distribution companies in the country.
The grid had on July 28, 2021 suffered a total collapse, which the Transmission Company of Nigeria attributed to the loss of 611 megawatts at two power stations.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company, in a message to its customers on its Facebook page, said, “We regret to inform you of a system collapse on the national grid that’s causing outages across our network.
“We are working with our TCN partners to restore supply as soon as possible. Please bear with us.”
Kaduna Electric said, “We sincerely apologise for the power outage in our franchise states which is due to a system collapse from the national grid. Supply shall be restored as soon as the grid is back up.
“We regret any inconvenience this may cause all our customers.”
The grid, which is being managed by government-owned TCN, has continued to suffer system collapse over the years amid a lack of spinning reserve that is meant to forestall such occurrences.
Spinning reserve is the generation capacity that is online but unloaded and that can respond within 10 minutes to compensate for generation or transmission outages.
August 23, 2021
Governor Bello Connects Radio Kogi Ochaja to National Grid
By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello over the weekend directed the connection of Radio Kogi Ochaja Sub Station to National Grid.
This gesture could be described as historic in the annal of broadcasting in Kogi State as Governor Bello actuallized the connection of Radio Kogi Ochaja Sub Station to the National Grid, 30 Years of its establishment in the eastern flank of the state.
In his reaction, the Kogi state Auditor-General, Alhaji Yakubu Okala, thanked the Executive Governor of the State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello for salvaging the pathetic situation of the Radio Kogi Ochaja sub Station from epileptic services.
He wondered what would be the future of the news dissemination and the entertainment industry if the Radio Station was left in such pathetic situation of the sub – station being powered by generating set for over 30 years.
The Auditor General stated that the people of Kogi East Senatorial District and the broadcasting Community cannot forget in a hurry the gesture of the Executive Governor of the State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
“Through radio broadcasting and programming, people in the rural areas would be at breast with the happenings, government programmes and activities”. he noted.
Alhaji Okala prayed God to strengthen the Governor as he is poised to do more to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of the State.
“In the same vein, recalled that a philanthropist, an illustrious son of Igala, anonymously donated an SP – 60 MIKANO generating set to power the Radio Kogi Ochaja Sub station on 12 May 2021 this year.”
May 29, 2021