… as supply from 19 GenCos to national grid plummets from 2,711 MW to 61 MW in under an hour

Oredola Adeola

Nigeria’s national power grid experienced a partial collapse, at approximately 1:52 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, leading to widespread outages across the country.

Akwa Ibom State was the only area unaffected, as it continued receiving power from Ibom Power, which was operational at the time of the incident.

Checks on the Nigerian System Operation (SO) portal on Tuesday, revealed a significant drop in power supply from the grid.

Advisors Reports’ analysis showed that output from 19 active electricity generation companies (GenCos) fell sharply from 2,711.84 megawatts (MW) at 1:00 p.m. to just 61.60 MW by 1:52 p.m., with Ibom Power remaining the sole supplier.

Meanwhile, at about 2:00 p.m., power generation had gradually increased from 61.60 MW and rose to 360.30 MW at 3:00 p.m., primarily due to output from Odukpani NIPP (Gas).

Later, Omoku (Gas) made an attempt to restore supply, contributing 32 MW to the grid around 4pm.

Further analysis indicated that Olorunsogo NIPP (Gas) had been offline since 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, while Shiroro (Hydro) was supplying power until it tripped off around 10:00 a.m.

Other major generation companies, including Afam IV & V, Afam VI, Azura-Edo, Delta Gas, Egbin (Steam), Geregu (Gas), Geregu NIPP (Gas), Jebba (Hydro), Kainji (Hydro), Okpai (Gas/Steam), Omotosho (Gas), Paras Energy (Gas), Rivers IPP (Gas), and Sapele (Steam), were all supplying power to the grid before shutting down at 1:52 p.m.

Ikeja Electric confirmed the incident, stating that its network experienced a system outage at 1:52 p.m., impacting power distribution within its service area.

The company assured customers that it was collaborating with stakeholders to restore supply as soon as possible.

Similarly, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) acknowledged the grid collapse, which disrupted power supply across its network.

Sani Bala Sani, Head of Corporate Communication at Kano Electricity Distribution Company, also confirmed the outage at 1:52 p.m., which left the DisCo unable to provide electricity to its customers.

Addressing the collapse, Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), explained that the partial collapse resulted from a series of line trips, which destabilized the grid and led to a system disturbance.

Mbah reported that the National Control Centre (NCC) indicated that parts of the grid were not affected by the disruption.

She confirmed that TCN engineers were working to restore bulk power supply, adding that electricity had already been restored to Abuja by 2:49 p.m., with restoration efforts ongoing in other affected areas across the country.