TCN blames technical hitches for widespread power outages, rules out grid collapse

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has attributed the intermittent power outages and fluctuations experienced in various parts of the country on Saturday, January 11, to technical issues arising from multiple line trippings on the national grid.

TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, in a statement she released on Saturday insisted that the national grid did not experience a collapse.

She stated that at 1:41 pm, the Ihovbor line experienced a trip, which triggered the subsequent trip of the Benin-Omotosho line.

According to her, these incidents impacted the bulk power supply, but only in the Lagos area.

Mbah explained that the line tripping disrupted operations at Egbin, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Geregu, and Paras power stations.

While these facilities have been restored, the restoration of the Benin-Omotosho 330kV line was still ongoing as of Saturday evening, according to the spokesperson.

Mbah said: “Earlier today, at about 13:41 hrs, the Osogbo-Ihovbor line tripped, followed by the tripping of the Benin-Omotosho line.

“These consequently affected bulk supply only on the Lagos axis.

“It is important to clarify that at about 13:00 hrs today, just before the tripping, total generation on the grid was 4,335.63 MW.

“After the trippings, however, generation dropped to 2,573.23 MW, showing clearly that the grid did not experience a collapse.

“The transmission line tripping affected Egbin, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Geregu, and Paras power stations.

“These have all been restored except for the Benin-Omotosho 330kV line, whose restoration is ongoing.”

She added that the TCN remains committed to building a robust transmission grid to minimise such incidents.

Persecondnews had reported that Nigeria’s national grid experienced its first collapse this year, leading to extensive power outages nationwide.

According to information from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (https://niggrid.org), the grid collapse happened at 1:56 pm.

Power generation dropped from 2111.01 megawatts as of 2 pm to 390.20 MW by 3 pm.