The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has called an emergency meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) following multiple disturbances and complete collapses of the electricity grid. This year alone, the grid has experienced eight disruptions, plunging the country into darkness.

The minister’s spokesperson, Bolaji Tunji, issued a statement yesterday expressing Chief Adelabu’s disappointment with these incidents, which he said threaten to undermine the progress made over the past year. According to the minister, improvements in the sector have led to a record generation of 5,527 megawatts, the highest in three years.

In response to the ongoing challenges, Chief Adelabu has established a forensic investigation committee tasked with advising the government on solutions to make the national grid more resilient. The committee will review the stability of the grid, assess potential sabotage, and identify the investments and technical capacities required to build a robust and smart grid. The committee is also expected to investigate the root cause of recent disturbances.

A technical team has been deployed to assess critical points on the grid and recommend measures to address vulnerabilities. On 14 October, the grid partially collapsed due to a fault at the Jebba and Osogbo transmission substations, with restoration efforts on 15 October resulting in further setbacks. Full grid restoration was achieved by 16 October.

Chief Adelabu clarified that there was no collapse on Tuesday, as some speculated, noting that the issue stemmed from continued restoration efforts. Similarly, what was termed a grid collapse on 19 October was actually a protective shutdown due to an explosion at the Jebba transformer. Power was restored within two hours, with the minister explaining that these were grid disturbances rather than outright collapses.

The six-member investigation committee is led by Nafisat Ali, Executive Director of the Independent System Operator (ISO), and includes key figures such as Dr. Chidi Ike from NERC and Emmanuel Nosike, Director of Transmission at the Federal Ministry of Power. They are expected to submit their report by 1 November 2024.

Separately, the TCN reported a forced outage affecting the North-east, North-west, and parts of the North-central regions due to a fault on the Ugwaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines. On Monday, both circuits tripped, leading to the loss of 468 megawatts of power. Teams from TCN were dispatched to trace the fault, though efforts were hampered by difficult terrain and security issues.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network (NCPN), led by Kunle Olubiyo, has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the power sector, urging a review of the power sector privatisation due to its perceived failures.