The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the collapse of the national grid occurred due to the sudden drop in system frequency from 49.94 Hertz (HZ) to 47.36Hz, which created system instability.
Hertz is a unit of frequency which replaces the earlier term of one cycle per second (cps).
This was made known in a statement issued by the General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, on Thursday in Abuja, and made available to newsmen.
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.
What the TCN Spokesperson is saying
- Mbah said, ”The incident was a result of sudden drop in system frequency from 49.94 Hertz (HZ) to 47.36Hz, which created system instability.
- “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 stated.
She also noted that an investigation was going on to establish the cause of the failure.
Restoration of collapsed national grid almost complete
Meanwhile, Mbah in the statement also disclosed that the restoration of the national grid was almost completed following its collapse on Wednesday.
She said that the national grid experienced system disturbance at about 11:27a.m. on Wednesday, but that its restoration was almost completed as at 11:00p.m.
The TCN spokesperson said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) appreciated the understanding of the government and consumers of electricity within and outside the country, noting that NESI was committed to leveraging on interventions instituted thus far to enhance power supply reliability.
In case you missed it
- Nairametrics ha earlier reported that the Eko Electricity Distribution Company on Wednesday, announced the collapse of the National grid which caused blackout.
- The power firm which confirmed that the incident occurred at around 11.27am, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, said it is currently discussing with TCN to determine the possible cause of the system collapse and the restoration timeline.
