TheNewsGuru

Tag: National Grid

  • BREAKING: Electricity workers shutdown national grid

    BREAKING: Electricity workers shutdown national grid

    After appeals to suspend their proposed strike failed, electricity workers in Nigeria, under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have shut down the national grid and gone on strike.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the development has thrown the nation into darkness as the electricity workers shut down the national grid around 11.30 am on Wednesday, multiple sources at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) have confirmed.

    Recall that NUEE had on August 15 directed its members to picket offices of TCN nationwide on August 16, after which, embark on strike on August 17 (today).

    The General Secretary, NUEE, Mr Joe Ajaero had, in a statement, said the picketing was to protest the directive by the TCN board that all Principal Managers in acting capacity going to Acting General Manager must appear for a promotion interview.

    Ajaero said the directive was in contravention of the workers’ conditions of service and career progression paths, and alleged that it was unilaterally done without the relevant stakeholders.

    Other issues raised include stigmatisation of staff from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation from working in other areas in the power sector, and non-payment of December 2019 entitlement of ex-PHCN staff.

    Earlier, the Managing Director of the TCN, Dr Sule Abdulaziz had, in a letter on Tuesday, following the threat by the workers to embark on the strike to drive home their demands, appealed to the electricity workers to suspend their proposed strike.

    Dr Abdulaziz disclosed that the management of TCN had suspended the said proposed interview for those on acting appointment of Assistant General Managers and General Managers while discussion with the board is concluded.

    “On the other two issues: circular from the office of Head of Service on stigmatisation of the defunct PHCN staff; payment of entitlement of ex-PHCN staff by market operator, the management has contacted the Honourable Minister of Power for his further action.

    “In view of this development, we appeal to your union to stay action; please accept the assurances of our highest regards,” Abdulaziz stated.

    Also, the Minister of State for Power, Mr Goddy Jedy-Agba, in a letter dated August 15, 2022 to the union, said that the ministry was committed to proffering solutions that would be acceptable to all parties concerned.

    “May we appeal to your great union to allow us two weeks from the date of this letter to address the issues and come up with proposals toward acceptable resolution of all issues,“ he said.

  • National grid collapse catalyst for leadership change – Peter Obi

    National grid collapse catalyst for leadership change – Peter Obi

    Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi has described reports of the national power grid has collapsed for the 6th time in 7 months as alarming.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Obi as saying such negative parameters are not only benchmarks for governance failure but a compelling catalyst for a leadership change.

    “Reports that the national power grid has collapsed for the 6th time in 7 months is alarming. Once again, many Nigerians have been left grope around in darkness without electricity.

    “Such negative parameters are not only benchmarks for governance failure but a compelling catalyst for leadership change.

    “Moreover, in a nation where many go the bed hungry, and national bakers going on strike is indicative of the high-stress level in both the productive realm of our economy and quality of life.

    “Also, for bread, one of the basic and affordable daily sustenance of the average Nigerian to become unavailable translates to a national crisis.

    “Government must live up to its statutory responsibilities to avert socio-economic incidents that induce extreme shock and stress on the national population,” the Labour Party presidential hopeful said.

    Restoration of national grid after collapse almost ready – TCN

    Meanwhile, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Thursday said restoration of the national grid was almost completed following its collapse on Wednesday.

    Mrs Ndidi Mbah, TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.

    Mbah said that the national grid experienced system disturbance at about 11:27 a.m. on Wednesday, but that its restoration was almost completed as at 11:00 p.m.

    ”The incident was a result of sudden drop in system frequency from 49.94  Hertz (HZ) to 47.36Hz, which created system instability,” she said.

    Hertz is a unit of frequency which replaces the earlier term of one cycle per second (cps).

    Mbah said that reports from the National Control Centre (NCC), revealed that the collapse was precipitated by the tripping of a unit with a load of 106 Megawatts (MW) in one of the generating stations due to “Exhaust over Temperature”

    She said the tripping pulled out other grid-connected units in the plant, which resulted in aggregated generation loss of 457MW.

    “A train of events ensued, culminating in the collapse of the national grid.

    “As obtainable in all systems, when a component of the electric power system is defective, the entire configuration is vitiated,” she said

    Mbah said investigation was going on to establish the cause of the failure.

    She said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) appreciated the understanding of the government and consumers of electricity within and outside the country.

    Mbah said that NESI was committed to leveraging on interventions instituted thus far to enhance power supply reliability.

  • Blackout as national grid collapses again

    Blackout as national grid collapses again

    The National Grid on Wednesday suffered another system collapse resulting in a blackout in some parts of the country.

    Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday.

    “Dear Customers, we regret to inform you of a system collapse on the National grid at precisely 11:27a.m today, July 20.

    “We are in talks with the Transmission Company of Nigeria to ascertain the cause of the collapse and a possible restoration timeline.

    “We will keep you updated on the situation,” the electricity distribution company said.

  • INCOMPETENCE: NCPN blames TCN over collapsed National Grid

    The Nigerian Consumer Protection Network (NCPN) has blamed the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), over the recent collapsed National Grid, saying it was due to incompetence.

     

    More than 24 hours after the collapse of the National Grid, the nation remained in darkness.

     

    NCPN asserted that TCN has failed to get its priority right, noting that it is certain they (TCN) need to deal with the issue of incompetence urgently.

     

    On Sunday night, power generation dipped to nine megawatts.

    Incompetence

     

    Before the collapse, the System Operator (SO) in its performance report put peak performance at 3,703mw.

     

    On the day under review, the NESI generated a total energy 2,869.01mw and distributed 2,824mw.

     

    Raising the issue of incompetence on the part of TCN, Spokesman of NCPN, Kunle Olubiyo, a lawyer, challenged the TCN to prioritise its use of funds for the national grid.

     

    The TCN said a major setback experienced by the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) triggered the lowest generation following which the national grid collapsed.

     

    The setback immediately threw the country into darkness forcing consumers to fall back to alternative sources for power.

     

    In a public notice to its customers, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) management explained: “The current power outage is due to a system failure from the National Grid.

     

    The system collapsed at about 6:49pm today (12th June, 2022), causing the outage currently being experienced.

     

    “We appeal for your understanding as well all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply.”

     

    The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) also pleaded with its customers. It attributed the outage in its area of coverage to the system failure.

     

    Its Head, Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, noted that the collapse occurred 18:47pm on Sunday.

     

    He said: “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to system collapse of the national grid.

     

    “The collapse occurred at about 18:47pm this (Sunday), hence, the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders.

     

    “Power supply shall be restored as soon as the National Grid is powered back, our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”

     

    According to Malam Isa Sanusi, Special Assistant on Media Affairs to Power Minister Abubakar Aliyu, said the TCN was already issuing a press statement on the matter.

     

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that TCN was awaiting the minister’s nod before issuing the statement.

     

    However, the NCPN spokesman blamed obsolete equipment and lack of maintenance due to incometence for frequent collapse of the grid.

    Incompetence

     

    Olubiyo said: “The issue is not lack of fund but misplaced priority vis a visa misapplication of funds.

     

    “Our emphasis should have being on how to improve on technical investments of the grid and not the administration of high capacity transformers. We have so many generation that is being stranded.”

  • Blackout looms as National grid collapses again in the country

    Another general blackout looms in the country as the national grid collapsed in the wee hours of Sunday, thereby making it the fifth in 6 months in 2022.

    It was learnt that the grid collapse on Sunday occurred around 6.49pm, leading to the shutdown of the outgoing electricity feeders of some power distribution companies.

    Findings had earlier shown that the quantum of power on the grid as at 6am on Sunday was 3,628.6 megawatts, but it was gathered that this crashed significantly in the evening leading to the eventual grid collapse.

    Nigeria’s power grid had collapsed twice in March and twice again in April this year, as the power generation on the system had continued to fluctuate due to various concerns such as gas constraint, water management challenges, gas pipeline vandalism, among others.

    According to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), the development was responsible for the current power outage being experienced.
    AEDC through its verified Facebook page on Sunday night appealed to its Abuja customers and those within its areas of operation for understanding as concerned authorities were working tirelessly to restore power supply.
    The statement reads “Please be informed that the current power outage is due to a system failure from the National Grid. The system collapsed at about 6.49pm today 12th June, 2022, causing the outage currently being experienced.
    “We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply,” said the management of AEDC.

    Also confirming Sunday’s collapse in a notice on its verified Twitter handle, entitled, “Power Outage In Our Franchise Due To Grid Collapse

    ” Kaduna Disco said, “Dear esteemed customers, we regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to system collapse of the national grid.

    “The collapse occured at about 18:47pm this evening hence the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders. Power supply shall be restored as soon as the national grid is powered back. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”

     

  • Blackout: Again, national grid collapses despite FG’s assurance

    Blackout: Again, national grid collapses despite FG’s assurance

    Again darkness looms in Nigeria as electricity national grid has collapsed leaving the country without a public power supply.

    This is the third in less than a month, came despite double assurances by the Federal Government that it has taken steps to address the problem.

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) which manages the grid last month said it had developed alternative ways of managing the grid.

    TCN had stated that its “in-house engineers have deployed a stop-gap solution to improve grid monitoring and acquisition of data from remote stations (power stations and transmission substations) to the National Control Centre.

  • FG accuses States Govts of hampering projects for better supply of electricity

    FG accuses States Govts of hampering projects for better supply of electricity

    The federal government gas accused some States Governments of hampering projects that are meant to strengthen and expand the national power grid for a better supply of electricity in the country.

    The federal government wants affected States to remove the right of way barriers in order to fast-track the expansion and strengthening of the national power grid.

    This way, some of the recent disruptions to electric power supply in the country could be avoided.

    This was one of the deliberations of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting which held yesterday, where the Council was briefed on the current state of power generation in the country by the Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu.

    The Council’s 124th meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with State Governors, Federal Ministers and other senior government officials in attendance.

    According to a statement released by Laolu Akande Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President on Friday, following the meeting, the Minister of Power stressed the need for urgent attention on the issue of State Government’s approval on the Right of Way (ROW) which he disclosed has hampered billions of Naira worth transmission projects that are meant to strengthen and expand the grid for better supply of electricity in the country.

    He stated that most of these projects were delayed because of gaps in the implementation of the Right of Way resolutions that State Governments are responsible for and there are currently 32 projects across multiple States stalled or that have been unable to begin post-approval.

    Aliyu said the projects account for an investment of $137 million that the Nigerian public is unable to realise value from due to these intractable issues.

  • Electricity: National grid collapse again

    Electricity: National grid collapse again

    Head, Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric Plc, Felix Ofulue, has confirmed the system collapse of the National Grid on Tuesday, as the second in less than 48 hours.

    The national power grid earlier experienced system crash on Monday, causing a loss of 1,100 megawatts from a 3,700mw peak generation earlier recorded and throwing the country into nationwide power outage.

    Confirming the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, Ofulue said that the collapse of the grid occured at 5.10 p.m.

    Accordingly, a text message sent out to residents read: “Dear esteemed customers, we would like to inform you of another system collapse on the national grid which occurred at 5:10 p.m today (Tuesday).

    “We are monitoring the situation and will continue to provide updates. Once again we apologise for the inconvenience,” Eko DisCo said in a statement.

    The grid, which is being managed by government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria, has continued to suffer system collapse over the years amid a lack of spinning reserve that is meant to forestall such occurrences.

    Spinning reserve is the generation capacity that is online but unloaded and that can respond within 10 minutes to compensate for generation or transmission outages.

    Many states across the country, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory have been thrown into darkness and residents have urged the government to ensure that power supply is restored soon.

  • TCN restores bulk power to all 330 KVA across grid – Official

    TCN restores bulk power to all 330 KVA across grid – Official

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN) says it has restored bulk power to all the 330 Kilo Volt (kV)Transmission Stations across the entire grid by 5.54pm Wednesday.

    TCN’s General Manager, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    It would be recalled that there was national grid collapse at about 11.01am Wednesday.

    TCN said that the total system collapse of the grid was as a result of voltage collapse in some parts of the grid.

    Mbah said that the Kainji – Birnin Kebbi line, however, tripped on fault but was restored.

    She said that the TCNs 330kV substations feed 132kV substations, through which Distribution Companies offtake electricity they deliver to electricity consumers nationwide.

  • National grid: TCN confirms total system collapse

    National grid: TCN confirms total system collapse

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the national grid experienced a total system collapse on Wednesday, resulting in blackout in some parts of the country.

    The TCN made the confirmation in a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah.

    Mbah said: “The TCN hereby states that at about 11.01 a.m today, May, 12 ,2021, there was a total system collapse of the grid, as a result of voltage collapse at some parts of the grid.

    “TCN commenced grid recovery immediately after the collapse, from Shiroro Generating Station to Katampe TS, Abuja through the Shiroro – Katampe line at 11:29 a.m and also through Delta Generating Station to Benin Transmission Substation and has reached Osogbo and parts of Lagos.”

    According to her, while the restoration of the grid and power gradually progress to other parts of the country, the cause of the voltage collapse that precipitated this failure is equally being investigated.

    “TCN appeals for patience as it works assiduously to ensure full restoration of the grid and consequently power supply to the remaining parts of the country,” she added.

    The national grid on Feb. 17, experienced partial collapse leading to power outage in some parts of Nigeria including Lagos State.