Nigeria: Blackout Following 11th National Grid Failure in 2024
For the eleventh time in 2024, Nigeria’s national electricity grid, which is run by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, or TCN, crashed yesterday, resulting in a total blackout.
As of 2:00 PM yesterday, none of Nigeria’s 26 power plants were connected to the grid, according to data from the National System Operator, or NSO.
Before that, tests conducted at around 1pm revealed that 15 plants were producing a total of 3,087MW on the grid, with the top four power plants being Azura-Edo IPP (379MW), Jebba Hydro (427MW), and Egbin (666MW).
The most recent breakdown occurred in spite of a request from Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, to fully follow the suggestions made by the ministry’s committee established to
overcome the grid’s difficulties.
The Minister pledged to take short-, medium-, and long-term steps to stop the ongoing collapses of the electrical system following the tenth one.
On social media, DiscCos, the firms that distribute power, acknowledged the situation and reassured customers that they were collaborating with relevant parties to bring the system back up.
“Dear Valued Customers, we would like to notify you that a system disturbance occurred on the national grid at 1:32 pm today, causing power outage across our franchise areas,” Abuja DisCo wrote in a message on its X (twitter) account. Although the power supply has started to gradually return, rest assured that we are working closely with all pertinent parties to fully restore electricity as soon as the grid stabilizes.
Lagos’ Eko DisCo posted: “Dear valued customer, please be advised that on December 11, 2024, at 13:32 hours, a system disturbance was observed, resulting in an interruption of power supply throughout our network. We are presently collaborating with our partners in the hopes of restoring the grid as quickly as possible. As soon as the power supply is restored, we’ll keep you informed. Please be patient with us.
How our operations are affected by grid meltdown — GenCos
Dr. Joy Ogaji, the Chief Executive of the Association of Power Generation firms (APGC), emphasized the major mechanical and financial effects of grid collapses on generation firms (GenCos) in a report on the frequent collapse of the national grid.
According to Dr. Ogaji, system instability has cost the Kainji and Jebba hydro facilities alone N21.87 billion this year, while the entire industry-wide impact on GenCos has not yet been calculated.
“Nigeria’s power sector is seriously threatened by grid collapse, which causes frequent outages, equipment damage, and large losses in revenue for GenCos. In theory, grid collapse can seriously harm transformers, generators, and other vital infrastructure, resulting in extended outages and expensive repairs.
