Blackout nationwide as national grid collapses again

 

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Nigerians are set to stay in darkness following reports of the collapse of the national grid system operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from Osogbo in Osun State.

 

It was gathered that the grid dropped to a meagre 273 megawatts of electricity coming from two out of the over 27 electricity generation.

Several Distribution Companies confirmed to The Guardian that the grid went down at 00:41 AM, disclosing that most of their feeders are out.

 

As of 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, five generating plants were on the grid. Afam VI had 0.70MW, Dadinkowa was generating 0.00MW, Ibom Power had 32.90MW, Jebba had 240MW, and Olorunsogo was on the grid with zero generation.

 

At about 1 AM midnight, the total power on the grid was 35MW, indicating that the country experienced a total collapse.

 

The grid went to 193MW at about 3 AM before climbing to 273MW when this report was filed.

 

The TCN has not responded to inquiries by our correspondent about the development.

Meanwhile, The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, hereby notes that grid restoration nationwide is in progress and has reached advanced stages with power

supply now available in the West, North Central, South, East, and a large portion of the Northern parts of the country.

 

The power supply restoration is sequel to the total grid collapse, which occurred at about 12.35 am, this morning, causing outage nationwide, after over 421 days of consistent grid stability.

 

In the course of the grid restoration, the process initially suffered a setback; this does not amount to another collapse. In the course of any grid restoration process, challenges may be encountered. This happened today while the grid

restoration was in progress, but it was promptly addressed.

 

It would be recalled that the last total system collapse recorded was on 20th July 2022, and since then, to the 13th of September, 2023, (421 days). Prior to this, the system had been stable in spite of the challenges posed by zero spinning reserve and lack of System Control and lack of adequate Data Acquisition (SCADA) essential to a strong and stable grid, among others

 

TCN had been able to maintain 400 days of grid stability because it developed and deployed in-house stop gap measures and tools that it has continued to use to manage the nations grid, ensuring its stability.

 

The incident notwithstanding, TCN is determined to continue to do its best to ensure grid stability.

 

Meanwhile, the collapse that occurred after a fire incident on Kanji/Jebba 330kV line 2 is being investigated, with the view to forestalling future occurrence

and invariably further strengthen the grid.

.Nigeria has no reason to be associated with poverty –Tinubu

 

However, Blessed with enormous human capacity and natural resource wealth, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja, said that neither Rivers State nor Nigeria has any business being associated with poverty, insecurity or under-development, assuring that under his leadership, the narrative will be permanently and positively changed.

Welcoming a high-powered 62-man delegation, comprising leaders from both the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to the State House, the President said the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has left big shoes to fill for the new Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and that as one of his most trusted allies, Rivers State will always have direct access to him in their joint march toward sustainable development.

“We are not meant to be in a position to be poor. We will turn the tide! Somewhere, somehow in this storm, there’s a quiet and peaceful place for us. We will locate it!

“We are not lazy people. We are richly endowed. We just need to be our brother’s keeper, and good neighbours to one another. I am not a President that will give excuses. I will work hard for our nation with purpose, determination and dedication to create wealth for all Nigerians. We have no reason to be poor! We will not look back, we will run aggressively forward.

“Today, we may be swimming against the tide. But the waves will soon propel us forward from behind. We will achieve the goals and dreams of our forefathers. I am inspired by the nation of people I now lead,” the President thundered.

President Tinubu noted that concerning infrastructure development in Rivers State, he had heard the cries of prominent Rivers sons, with particular reference to the Eleme Junction-Onne axis of the East-West Road, linking the Port Harcourt Refinery. On this, the President said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is a strong adviser and would follow up on the issue for prompt action.

“The Honourable Minister, Wike, is not just the Minister of FCT, he is also my adviser and an admirer of mine. He has hit the ground running and he should be encouraged by the State,” the President affirmed.

Advising the younger generation to be more patient with the processes of government, the President said, “I am the Captain and Chief Salesman of the country. We have to reverse the trend and achieve possibilities within a short period of time. Our people have high expectations for us. I pledge to work hard, and I pray to God to put me on the right path, not to disappoint Nigerians.”

In his remarks, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, told the President that the delegation, which included leaders of political parties, and past and present members of the State and National Assemblies across parties, was on a solidarity and thank you visit.

“The people of Rivers State voted for you in the last general elections based on their belief in fairness, equity and justice. This is the first time that Rivers State is truly feeling the impact of the federal government since the inception of democracy in 1999,” he said.

The Governor noted that the delegation greatly appreciated the President for appointing capable sons and daughters of the state into highly strategic positions within his administration.

The Governor particularly thanked the President for the appointments of the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike; Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity & Official Spokesperson of the President, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, as well as other sons and daughters of Rivers State into the Boards and Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other institutions.

The Governor applauded the President for attracting a $14 billion dollars investment approval for projects nationwide during the G-20 Summit, including the expansion of Indorama Petrochemicals in Eleme, Rivers State, adding that the State had just allocated 209 hectares of land in support of the new investment.