“The causes of grid collapse in Nigeria spread across all participants, from generation companies to transmission and distribution. From generation companies, there is the inadequacy of gas supply, improper coordination of plants and gas pipelines, poor generation availability”.
Nafisat Ali, the executive director of the Independent System Operator (ISO) department of the TCN, disclosed this during the visit of the Senate Committee on Power on Monday.
Under the transmission value chain, she added that lack of operating/spinning reserve and voltage support scheme, lack of reliable SCADA facility, vandalism, tripping of critical infrastructure lines, transition line redundancy and lack of reliable communication facility are the causes for grid collapse.
For the distribution companies (DisCos), Ms Ali listed the weak distribution networks, load allocation violation, and lack of visibility on the DisCos network, among others, as the reasons for the unending collapse.
To achieve a reliable system, she said the system must have an adequate amount of capacity (generation, demand response and network capacity) to meet consumer needs.
“To achieve a reliable power system, it is necessary to include a buffer in the supply and demand balance, known as reserves. This allows the actual demand and supply to be kept in balance, even in the face of shocks to the system,” she added.
In recent times, the TCN has reported causes of national grid system collapses, resulting in reduced electricity allocation to electricity distribution companies in the country.
Last Monday, Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed yet again, throwing several cities into darkness and generation dropped to 64.70 megawatts, officials said.
The latest collapse, less than a month after the national grid system collapsed in March, is the third time this year.