‘Restored’ — TCN says grid collapsed due to transformer explosion at Jebba substation

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the national grid collapsed on Saturday due to an explosion at the bus section of a current transformer at the 330-kilovolt (kV) Jebba transmission substation, Niger state.

In a statement by Ndidi Mbah, general manager (GM), public affairs, TCN said following the incident, the commission activated a protection system, which promptly opened the busbars to curtail the explosion.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby states that the national grid experienced a temporary disturbance at about 8:15am, today, 19th Oct. 2024,” TCN said.

“According to the report from the NCC, the bus section of a current transformer exploded at 330kV Jebba Transmission Substation and as expected, the protection system was activated, and this promptly opened the busbars to curtail the explosion, thereby preventing outbreak of fire and further damage to adjacent equipment.

“The action of the protection system led to a temporary disturbance on the grid.

“Our engineers at Jebba have successfully carried out switchings, isolating the faulty current transformer. They have equally reconfigured the busbar arrangement, restoring power supply to the station, and other parts of the grid.”

The system failure earlier today was the third time in a week and the eighth time in 2024.

On February 4, Nigeria recorded the first national grid collapse.

Also, on March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5, the national grid collapsed.

Nigerians experienced another blackout on October 14, and October 15.

TCN on May 1 said the number of system collapses had reduced significantly in the country.

According to the commission, the grid disturbances declined by 76.47 percent in five years.

Also commenting on the frequent system failure at the national grid, Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, said it is inevitable due to the outdated infrastructure.

However, the minister said future collapses can be prevented by more investment in power infrastructure.

Adelabu also advocated for multiple grids within regions and states to ensure that power failure in one area does not affect the entire nation.

While speaking on decentralising the power sector, the minister said if there is a disturbance in the national grid, it affects all 36 states because Nigeria relies on a single national grid.

Adelabu said all the state government and the local government can participate in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity because the Electricity Act has decentralised power.