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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said that it has restored the affected part of the grid that was blown up by vandals.
Earlier yesterday, criminals blew up TCN tower number 388 along the Jos-Bauchi, 132kV Single Circuit transmission line resulting in grid collapse and nationwide darkness.
Prior to the incident, TCN said in a statement that total generation on the grid was 3,901.25 MW at 08:00hours, a little over three hours before time of partial collapse.
“It is important to note that low power generation has persisted since January 2024, to date, exacerbating daily due to the lingering gas constraint.
According to the National Control Center (NCC), the Internet of Things (IoT) revealed that just before the partial disturbance, which occurred at 11:21Hrs, Sapele Steam & Egbin Substations lost a total of 29.32MW & 343.84MW at 11:20:14Hrs & 11:20:17Hrs respectively, totalling 373.16MW.
“This, combined with the current low power generation due to gas constraints, there was a partial system disturbance.
“Gas constraints continue to impact grid flexibility and stability. Ensuring sufficient gas supply to power generating stations is crucial for grid stability as sufficient generation allows for better grid management in the event of sudden generation losses like this. TCN will investigate the cause of tripping of Sapele Steam & Egbin power generating units” the statement, noted.
TCN had earlier reported a disturbance in the line trip which led to the collapse of the grid.
“Following a line trip in Jos, Plateau State and bearing in mind past experiences associated with line tripping in that axis, the General Manager, Transmission of Bauchi Region, Engineer Tijjani Ahmadu invited the police anti-bomb squad and the Department of State Services (DSS) to accompany the TCN line crew and investigate the transmission line to find the cause of the tripping.
Upon inspection, the team uncovered remnants of detonated explosives by vandals by the tower legs, which had exploded and caused the tower to collapse. This incident mirrors a recent and similar act on December 21, 2023, which brought down towers T372 and T373 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV Single Circuit transmission line, killing a security operative and affecting power supply in the same Yobe and Borno states. The line and towers from the December incident were fully reconstructed and energized on February 2, 2024” the statement further noted.
