The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the national grid that collapsed at about 8.15am on Saturday October 19, has been restored. According to a statement released, TCN blamed the recent collapse on an explosion at the bus section of a current transformer at the 330-kilovolt (kV) Jebba transmission substation, Niger state.

In the statement signed by its General Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, TCN said following the explosion that occurred, the commission activated a protection system, which promptly opened the busbars to curtail the explosion.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby states that the national grid experienced a temporary disturbance at about 8:15am, today, 19th Oct. 2024.

According to the report from the NCC, the bus section of a current transformer exploded at 330kV Jebba Transmission Substation and as expected, the protection system was activated, and this promptly opened the busbars to curtail the explosion, thereby preventing outbreak of fire and further damage to adjacent equipment.

The action of the protection system led to a temporary disturbance on the grid. Our engineers at Jebba have successfully carried out switchings, isolating the faulty current transformer. They have equally reconfigured the busbar arrangement, restoring power supply to the station, and other parts of the grid.” the statement read

The system failure earlier today was the third time in a week and the eighth time in 2024.

Nigeria’s national electricity grid suffered another collapse on Saturday morning, resulting in a nationwide blackout.

Data from the Nigerian system operator indicated that the grid recorded zero megawatts at 9:10 a.m.

This marks the third collapse in one week.

The national grid collapsed eight times in 2024, starting with the first incident on February 4.

Other collapses followed on March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5.

More recently, Nigerians faced outages on October 14 and 15, disrupting daily activities and economic operations nationwide.

Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu has attributed the frequent failures to aging infrastructure, suggesting that more investment is required to modernize the grid and prevent future collapses.

Adelabu also proposed decentralising the power system, advocating for the establishment of multiple regional grids across states to minimize the impact of failures.

He said the country relies on a single national grid, so if there is a disturbance at the national grid, it affects all 36 states.

With the Electricity Act already allowing state and local governments to participate in power generation, transmission, and distribution, there are growing calls for urgent action.

Adeyanju Says Anyone Can Fall Sick, Prays for Speedy Recovery for Ailing Chief of Army Staff, General Lagbaja

I’ve just received news that Lieutenant General Lagbaja, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, is dealing with an undisclosed health issue.

It is important to note that anyone can fall sick and so, I call for empathy towards the army boss and his family.

I’d like to extend my heartfelt wishes for his speedy recovery.

Moreover, the Nigerian Army should ensure a seamless transition of duties and maintain its operational effectiveness during Lieutenant General Lagbaja’s recovery.

We pray for Lieutenant General Lagbaja’s swift recovery and return to duty.

Signed,
DEJI ADEYANJU, ESQ.