The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has recorded its second electricity system collapse in 2024. The incident scuttled the work of the electricity companies, DisCos, across the country.
Jerrymusa.com reports that the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, or EKEDC, sent out the following message to its customers: “Please be advised that there was a system breakdown at 16:28 hours (4:28 p.m.), which has resulted in a loss of power supply across our network.
Plan Ongoing to Restore Grid
“We are currently 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.
According to Vanguard’s checks, several areas of the country lacked electricity. This has forced a lot of companies and homes to pay more for their own independent power generation.
Additionally, TCN’s spokesperson, Mrs. Ndid Mba, verified the development over the phone with Vanguard.
“There was a system collapse,” she declared. However, we have started to recover and have brought back supplies to Benin, Abuja, and a few other areas of the country.
Nigerians went through at least three national blackouts in 2023. They took place on December 11, 19, and September 14.
Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, expressed concern over the recurrent breakdown. Regarding the difficulties the nation’s power industry is facing, he pleaded for Nigerians to be patient with the government.
Adelabu made this statement while voicing concerns about the nation’s inadequate electricity supply, which is a result of a number of problems, including unpaid subsidy payments.
Joshua Okorie, the CEO of Kodion Energy, advocated for the dismantling of the country’s electrical grid. He proposed shattering it into micro-grid systems along state lines.
“With the infrastructure and capacity to evacuate excess power to other states, a micro-grid system or smart grid that ends within a state is easy to operate,” he stated.
“A national grid will never function in Nigeria.” If it is still the case after 100 years, it will never work. It is not going to work.
The minister brought up the deteriorating infrastructure constructed during British control and the antiquated state of the Nigerian grid.
He claimed that the improvement of electricity required “a smart 21st-century grid system.”
He noted that the development of Geometric Power Limited’s system in Aba, Abia State, to power the industrial metropolis served as an excellent model for the rest of the nation.
According to Okorie, more than 76% of Nigerians residing in rural areas do not have access to electricity, and the country’s powerless population is believed to number 90 million.
But these figures indicate that the nation has enormous potential, particularly in the field of renewable energy, he added.
“However, amid these difficulties, Nigeria has a chance to seize its ample solar resources and advance towards a future driven by clean energy,” the minister continued.