Economy

National Power Grid Experiences Another Collapse

Written by Agboola Oluwafemi on October 15, 2024

News Views: 319

The national electricity grid experienced yet another collapse on Monday evening, plunging many areas into darkness. The collapse occurred around 6:18 pm, significantly reducing power generation. Records indicate that electricity production dropped from 3.87 gigawatts at 5 pm to 3.56 gigawatts by 6 pm, and fell to zero by 7 pm and 8 pm.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday evening. The company informed its customers of “a general system collapse that occurred at 18:48 hours today, 14th October 2024,” which has led to the current power outage across its network.

“As a result of this development, all our interface stations with the Transmission Company of Nigeria are out of supply, rendering us unable to serve our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States,” the statement added. The EEDC also noted that they are awaiting further details from the National Control Centre (NCC) in Osogbo regarding the collapse and the restoration of supply. This statement was signed by Emeka Ezeh, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications.

Similarly, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company informed its customers, stating, “Dear Valued Customer, please be informed that the power outage you are experiencing is due to a system failure from the national grid at 6:58 pm today, affecting power supply to our franchise areas. Rest assured, we are working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid stabilizes. Thank you for your understanding.”

This marks approximately the fifth grid collapse in 2024. Princewill Okorie, Executive Director of the Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, expressed concern over the recurring grid failures, despite increasing electricity tariffs. He lamented that unmetered consumers would still be billed during the outage, questioning what actions the government has taken to prevent these frequent collapses.