… makes gradual recovery from 64.7MW around 3am to 880MW at Monday noon

…TCN blames collapse on fire incident at Afam Power generating station

Oredola Adeola

The national electricity grid suffered its seventh grid collapse in 2024, around 2:00 am on Monday, with generation dropping to zero from 2,583.77MW and later partially recovering to 64.7MW around 3 am, followed by a steady recovery that has led to a load allocation of 880MW to Discos as of 11:58 am on the same day.

The Independent System Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN) data of the electricity distribution companies (DisCos), reviewed by Advisors Reports showed that the 800MW allocated to the 11 Distribution Companies (DisCos) was shared as follows:

Abuja Disco had 100.00 MW, Benin Disco 80.00 MW, Eko Disco 50.00 MW, Enugu Disco 50.00 MW, Ibadan Disco 150.00 MW, Ikeja Disco 150.00 MW, Jos Disco 50.00 MW, Kaduna Disco 50.00 MW, Kano Disco 90.00 MW, PHarcourt Disco 70.00 MW, and Yola Disco 40.00 MW.

The active fifteen (15) power plants gradually recovered and restored electricity supply as Ibom Power Plant made the first recovery around 3am with 64.70MW, but the power output fluctuated throughout the morning, dropping to 44.50MW around 4 am and later moving up to 53.60MW at Monday noon.

The Shiroro (Hydro) and Jebba (Hydro) joined the recovery efforts around 5 am and 10 am, contributing 82.99MW and 160MW, respectively.

Okpai (Gas/Steam) and Azura-Edo IPP (Gas) also joined the fray, contributing 117MW and 93MW around 11 am and 6 am, respectively.

Geregu (Gas) and Olorunsogo (Gas) also made a comeback around 9 am and 10 am, contributing 90MW and 32.20MW, respectively.

CAUSE: Fire incident at Afam Power generating station

Ndidi Mbah, TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, in a statement obtained by Advisors Reports disclosed that announced the full restoration of the national grid following a fire incident at the Afam power generating station, which caused a partial disturbance of the nation’s grid.

According to her at 02:41am on Monday, April 15, 2024, a fire erupted at the Afam V 330kV bus bar coupler, leading to the tripping of units at Afam III and Afam VI.

She said, “This resulted in a sudden generation loss of 25MW and 305MW respectively, destabilizing 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,” Mbah said.

TCN further confirmed that the affected section of the grid has been fully restored and stabilized, reaffirming its commitment to enhancing the resilience and reliability of the national grid.