National power grid collapses; power supply reduced 

The national grid collapsed in the early hours of Monday for the third time this year. 

This has caused further challenges over the new 20 hours minimum power supply requirements for the amended Multi-Year Tariff Order(MYTO).

The MYTO which increased electricity tariff for Band A customers from N68 per kilowatt hour to N225kWh required that customers get more electricity.

Checks on power supply data supplied by the Independent System Operator, showed that as of 4 pm yesterday, the grid had been restored to 2,951 Megawatts with 16 of the nation’s 26 power plants on the grid.

Further checks showed that the top three generators were Egbin Power Plant at 684MW, Azura IPP 390MW and Jebba Hydro 266MW.

On the distribution side, Abuja DisCo was allocated 378MW, Ikeja Electric 373MW and Eko DisCo 317MW, significantly lower than the load needed to maintain the supply for the new tariff.

Meanwhile, the Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN) has blamed the latest collapse on a fire incident at the Afam power generating station.

A statement by the company said: “At 02:41 Hrs today, 15th April 2024, a fire erupted at the Afam V 330kV busbar coupler, leading to the tripping of units at Afam III and Afam VI. This resulted in a sudden generation loss of 25MW and 305 MW respectively, destabilising the grid and causing a partial collapse.

“During the incident, the Ibom Power plant was isolated from the grid and was supplying parts of the Port Harcourt Region. This further minimized the effect of the system disturbance. TCN confirms that the affected section of the grid has been fully restored and stabilized.

“TCN reaffirms its commitment to enhancing the resilience and reliability of the national grid and pledges to continue investing in measures aimed at strengthening the grid infrastructure”.