Electricity Grid Experiences Partial Disturbance as Supply Slumps

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigeria experienced partial disturbance on the national electricity grid yesterday as generation fell to as low as 1.255.78mw at around 3pm, throwing parts of the country into darkness.

The last time the country was plunged into darkness due to the grid failure was on July 6, 2024.

However, the disturbance happened after supply peaked at 4,067.77mw during the day, before slumping, but had begun to pick, hitting 3.005.82mw at about 9pm last night.

At the time of this report, power had been restored to many parts of the country, although the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had yet to issue any statement on the matter.

At 9pm last night, Azura Power was supplying 408mw to the national grid, Delta Gas was supplying 367mw, while Jebba hydro was also supplying the national electricity grid with about 455mw.

Also, Olorunsogo was pushing 190mw into the power grid while Kainji Hydro was supplying 251mw to the Nigeria’s national power grid.

In a message to its customers in Abuja, Kogi, Niger and Nasarawa, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) called for patience, stressing that the system operator was doing everything to restore normalcy.

“Dear valued customers, we understand that some of our customers are still without power due to a system failure from the national grid at 2.55pm today, 5th August 2024.

“ Please be assured that the system is gradually stabilising, and we are working diligently with all relevant stakeholders to restore power to the affected areas as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” the AEDC said in an online statement.

Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people is arguably the world’s least ‘electrified’ nation in the world, with electricity supply hovering between 3,500mw and 5,000mw.

The federal government has assured that by December 2004, Nigeria would be able to generate, wheel and distribute at least 6,000mw to electricity customers nationwide.