By Ohuakanwa Chibuzo
The recent collapse in the national grid in parts of Nigeria has been attributed to the vandalization of tower number 388 along the Jos-Bauchi, 132kV Single Circuit transmission line by unidentified perpetrators, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Ndidi Mbah, the TCN General Manager of Public Affairs, stated that the incident, suspected to have occurred on February 1, 2024, at around 10:20 pm, resulted in a power outage affecting Yobe and Borno states.
In response to the incident, TCN initiated investigations with the assistance of the police anti-bomb squad and the Department of State Services (DSS) to determine the cause of the tripping. The investigation revealed remnants of detonated explosives by vandals near the tower legs, causing the collapse of the tower.
This incident reflects a similar occurrence on December 21, 2023, which brought down towers T372 and T373 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV Single Circuit transmission line, resulting in casualties and affecting power supply in Yobe and Borno states. The affected line and towers from the December incident were reconstructed and energized on February 2, 2024.
TCN has mobilized one of its contractors on an emergency basis to commence the reconstruction and restringing of the affected line and tower. However, TCN expressed concerns over the persistent vandalism and theft of power equipment, which divert funds earmarked for grid expansion to repair vandalized infrastructure, impeding the nation’s transmission system expansion plan.
In a related development, TCN reported a partial disturbance in the grid at approximately 11:21 hours, with Ibom power islanded, supplying power to Eket, Ekim, Itu, and Uyo transmission substations. TCN promptly initiated restoration efforts, and the grid was fully restored.
Prior to the incident, the total grid generation was 3,901.25 MW at 08:00 hours, with low power generation persisting since January 2024 due to gas constraints, exacerbating daily.
According to the National Control Center (NCC), just before the partial disturbance, Sapele Steam and Egbin Substations lost a total of 29.32MW and 343.84MW at 11:20:14 hours & 11:20:17 hours respectively, totaling 373.16MW. TCN emphasized the need for sufficient gas supply to power generating stations to ensure grid stability and better management during sudden generation losses.
TCN committed to investigating the cause of the tripping of Sapele Steam & Egbin power generating units to prevent future disturbances and maintain grid stability.
