Tag: grid

The federal government said that the national grid has been stabilised with additional 700MW transmission capacity.

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu said this at the weekend when he received the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, in his office in Abuja. 

His media aide, who made this known in a press statement yesterday, quoted him as saying, “We have installed almost 90 % of this and they are working. And that has improved transmission capacity by over 700 megawatts, which is the result of what we are seeing now in terms of relative stability in the transmission grid. 

“Before now, at the time the supply to the grid enters 5,000, the grid is unstable it shakes, collapses and all that. 

“Now, we are having an average of 5,000, 7,000, 8,000 megawatts. So it’s not by accident. It’s because of these activities of the government.”

The minister said this administration has recorded two major milestones in the power sector ever in Nigeria. 

He said number one is the highest average daily power consumption.

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“Over 20,000 kilowatt hour it was achieved, which has never been achieved before.”

Continuing, the minister said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has transmitted and distributed highest energy of 5,801.63MW as the latest feat. 

Adelabu said, ” We have also achieved transmitted and distributed highest energy in the volume of 5,801.63, which has broken the previous record, achieved 2021. And lastly, we have achieved a valuable generation capacity of 6,003 megawatts ever in Nigeria. So which is why I keep saying that, when you put in some level of activity, you see the results.”

Meanwhile he called on the member states of the European Union (EU) to continue to provide technical, financial, and other assistance to Nigeria, especially the power sector, which is the driving force of the economy. 

He said the sector is critical to the optimal performance of the economy.

Adelabu expressed the readiness of Nigeria to continue to work and collaborate with the Union and all its development partners in achieving both bilateral and multilateral agreements. 

He told the envoy that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took the issue of the power sector very seriously and has given all the needed support for the sector to make a breakthrough.

The Minister noted in particular the enormous financial support that the power sector has received from European Union nations, such as Germany, France and many others along with their development partners. 

He expressed delight in receiving the envoy as he said the meeting would ensure that both parties benefitted from the bilateral and multilateral relationships.

“First, let me thank you and welcome you. When I got the information that you wanted to meet with me, I wasn’t surprised. I was also excited to receive you in my office because we are trying everything possible to ensure that we benefit from bilateral and multilateral relationships when it comes to gaining experience of the Western nations on the issue of power. And like you rightly put it, the power sector is so critical to the optimal performance of every other sector. Without power, it would be tough for other sectors to perform actively, which is why Mr. President has placed so much premium and priority to transforming the Nigeria power sector. 

“We have a history that we are not proud of. Over 60 years of electricity in Nigeria and we are still at this level of epileptic supply to households, businesses and industries. In fact, we got electricity before some European countries. So those that got electricity after us have stabilised their supply. They have made their supply reliable and they are benefiting from it through visible economic growth and industrial development. And today, we are still import-dependent on the majority of the things that we use in Nigeria not because we don’t have the raw materials to produce these things, but because of the lack of reliability and functionality of our power sector”, the Minister said.

He added that there has been a lot of improvement since President Tinubu took over power and he has initiated reforms that are yielding positive results and transforming the sector. He noted in particular, the investment in the non-grid supply to the rural and semi urban parts of the country. 

He said: “We have seen some reasonable improvements since this new administration came in. In three basic areas. Number one, in the area of energy access expansion. We have extended the grid to so many areas where there were no grid extensions. And we have also exploited renewable energy in our rural areas and semi-urban areas that were either underserved or unserved. Renewable energy in terms of solar energy, most especially, and we have small dams which we are using for hydro power supply. So we have achieved some level of energy expansion in terms of new generation”. 

The Minister disclosed that the revolution that is ongoing in the sector was as result of the bold step of President Tinubu, when he signed the Electricity Act of 2023. 

He said, “The second intervention with regard to the transmission is the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), and you will recognize it better when I say Siemens Project. So we are actually securing the finance of close to 2.3 billion dollars to ensure that we revamp or transform our transmission segments.

“And the government of Germany has been very instrumental to ensure this works. The Siemens is handling lots of the critical transmission projects there. We also have some reputable Chinese firms too, that are doing some distribution projects, based on each company’s specialty and track records. 

“That is working well. We have almost completed the pilot phase of that project, which involved importation, installation, commissioning, and energisation of 10 power transformers across the country and another set of 10 mobile substations.”

• Facility collapses 12th time

Electricity consumers were yesterday assured that the national power grid would achieve significant stability upon completion of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) pilot stage. 

The assurance came on a day the grid in Osogbo, Osun State collapsed for the 12th time this year and 105th time in ten years.

Power Minister  Adebayo Adelabu, at a meeting with  German officials in Abuja, said the pilot stage of the PPI, also known as the Siemens project,  was 80 percent completed. 

A major aspect of the pilot phase is the installation of 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations that added  750 Megawatts (MW)  to the grid’s capacity.

Two remaining aspects of the pilot stage are expected to be inaugurated before the last day of this month to further increase the grid’s capacity by 150 MW.

Energy generation dipped from  3,087.05 MW  to zero when the grid failed at 1.33 pm yesterday.

As of 8 pm, only 375MW was transmitted to the grid. Before then, none of the 19 Generation Companies (GenCos) had the energy to supply to any of the Electricity Distribution  Companies  (DisCos) for distribution to their customers.

Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) General Manager (Public Affairs) Ndidi Mbah could not be reached when  The Nation called to know the reason for the latest collapse.

  Shortly after the incident, the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC)  notified its customers that the outage was due to low power supply from the grid.

“The current outage being experienced within our franchise States is a result of loss of power supply from the national grid, ‘’ said  JEDC’s Public Communication Head,  Friday Elijah.

He explained in a statement that  the outage in the company’s areas of coverage was due  to a ‘’loss of power  supply on all   feeders.’’

But Power Minister Adelabu said after meeting with German officials in the entourage of  German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the State House,   Abuja,  that the PPI was a major component of the bilateral energy agreement signed by Nigeria and Germany at COP28 in Dubai a year ago.

Read Also: National grid collapses as power generation drops to 0MW

He emphasised that the pilot phase’s success had laid the groundwork for the commencement of Phase One of the PPI, which includes the rehabilitation of 14 existing substations and establishment of 23 new substations across the country.

Adelabu explained that the commercial aspects of the initial batch of Phase One have been finalised, pending a no-objection approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and subsequent presentation to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The minister underscored the importance of the Siemens project in addressing the fragility of Nigeria’s outdated and dilapidated grid.

He said: “The name of the game now is about cooperation, collaboration, and partnership and the flagship of this bilateral relationship has to do with what we call the Siemens project, which is our Presidential Power Initiative, where Siemens is actually implementing the brownfield and greenfield transmission substations of the PPI.

⁣

“Since the signing of the agreement in Dubai at COP 28 in December 2023, we have made significant progress. We have completed the pilot phase of this project, up to 80%.

“This involves the importation, installation, and commissioning of 10 power transformers and 10 power mobile substations; they’ve been imported, they’ve been installed, and lots of them have been commissioned. We have just about two left to be commissioned before the end of the year.

“The positive impact of this is that it has added nothing less than 750 Megawatts to our transmission grid capacity, which is why the relative stability that we are seeing in the grid today is the direct positive impact of the pilot stage completion. ⁣

“We believe that before the end of the year, an additional 150 Megawatts of capacity is going to be added upon completion of the entire pilot phase.⁣

“So we are officially entering into the Phase One stage of this project, which involves the rehabilitation of 14 brownfield existing substations and the establishment of 23 new greenfield stations across the length and breadth of this country. ⁣

“So the first stage or the Batch 1 of this phase one stage has already been concluded in terms of the commercials. What we’re expecting now is a no-objection approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement, after which I’m going to present it at FEC.

“Once presented at FEC, and we will finalise the financing arrangement, enter into Phase One. We are quite confident from the satisfaction that we got from the completion of the pilot stage.

 “When we are done with the phase one project in the transmission, the entire grid will not remain the same, and that’s why we are telling Nigerians that this is a very old grid. It’s quite fragile and it’s dilapidating. ⁣

“We need to revamp the entire grid for us to be sure of stability going forward. That is the Presidential Power Initiative.”

Adelabu also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, emphasising the role of renewable energy in the country’s energy transition. He highlighted Nigeria’s renewable energy potential and ongoing collaboration with Germany.

The minister noted that Nigeria’s abundant natural resources, including over 10 hours of daily sunshine across 30 states, desert, and coastal winds, and more than 300 underutilised dams, present vast opportunities for renewable energy development.

Adelabu also outlined plans to implement a distributed power model, which would enable each of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to have localised power generation.

This approach, according to him, will shield states from disruptions on the national grid while ensuring expanded energy access, particularly in rural areas and isolated institutions such as schools and hospitals.

Adelabu acknowledged the support of Germany through its international development agency, GIZ, which has been instrumental in the grid extension and renewable energy projects.  

Energy expert, Wale Shonibare, has attributed the frequent collapse of Nigeria’s national grid to years of neglect of transmission infrastructure.

Shonibare made this remark during an interview with our correspondent at the recently concluded Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Rabat, Morocco.

He explained that the country’s current challenges stem from a lack of focus on critical infrastructure, as priorities were shifted elsewhere over the years.

“Politicians like to cut ribbons, which means they invest in generation. But it’s a value chain. You don’t invest in generation alone. 

“So the distribution and transmission infrastructure needs attention. I think there’s a realisation that we have to do that now, and that needs to be done very urgently,” he said.

Shonibare said the country must make the energy sector bankable for foreign investors to come in, noting that no investor would want to commit their funds in a fragile national grid.

Nigerians have had to suffer countless blackouts in recent times as a result of collapse of the national grid, a development that has adversely affected small businesses.

Available statistics indicate that this year alone, the grid has collapsed a minimum of 12 times, while the country recorded 105 grid collapses in the last 10 years.

He said the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) was working with the country on the  implementation of the new electricity act, as well as policies to facilitate the sector and make it liquid for investors to come in.

“The sustainability of our utilities, having the right tariff structures, because the utilities are the ones that buy the electricity. So if the utilities are not sustainable, it’s very difficult to bring investment into the sector. 

“I was very involved in the privatisation effort, mobilising investment when I was working in Nigeria about eight years ago, but look at what has happened to all those loans that were taken at that time. 

“So if we don’t demonstrate that Nigeria is a viable investment destination, that investment will go elsewhere, because capital is not sentimental. In Nigeria, there’s an emphasis on making sure that we develop the infrastructure for evacuating the power. 

“Nigeria has a lot of stranded power that is not being evacuated. We have the generation capacity, but you have to get that power to the people, which means the transmission lines, the distribution systems, the substations, and also the collection. There’s a huge metering gap in Nigeria. 

“People don’t want estimated billing, so you need to have prepaid metering that is deployed so that you can collect the money. It starts with collecting the money, that’s what feeds the rest of the value chain. 

“But the government has been very receptive. We’re providing technical assistance. We’ve embedded people in strategic places to work with ministers and also within to work with the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and also with state governments.

“In fact, earlier this year, we sent about 20 state government officials to the African School of Regulation for training, because we have to build the capacity. Interestingly, a lot of those people who were trained by the old Nepal PHCN are getting old and retiring. 

Read Also: National grid collapses as power generation drops to 0MW

“So, we have to replace that talent, and the whole system has to work holistically.”

Shonibare said he was very optimistic about the potential in Nigeria, adding that positive results would be seen soon.if the grid collapses could be stopped.

“And once you have that stable platform, then you can build in the other aspects. But we’ve learnt a lot of lessons, and I still believe that in the long run, the privatisation and liberalisation of the sector in Nigeria is creating a lot of innovative businesses and approaches. States are taking more of a role, and the states are closer to the people. 

“So, I think that’s a very good innovation, because then the governor will be held accountable for providing electricity. We didn’t have that before, because power generation was on the exclusive list. And so for me, I’m seeing a lot of talent coming out of Nigeria, and we have to mobilise our local financial sector. 

“Nobody else is going to do it for us. So if the sector is bankable, the money will come in. We saw it in telecoms, it needs to happen for the power sector.

“I think it is important that the government continues to invest massively in transmission. It is a centralised system, and you don’t want to vulcanise the transmission. 

“We are even talking about a continental master plan for Africa to link our countries. Why should Nigeria be sitting on a surplus if a neighbouring country has the need for that generation capacity? 

“Now in West Africa, we’ve linked all the French countries. Cote D’Ivoire is selling electricity to Mali, it’s selling to Burkina Faso. It’s much cheaper electricity than what they’re able to generate in their own country. 

“That’s what happens in Europe. It’s efficient. If we have a shortage in Nigeria, you should be able to buy from another country that has surplus. And that fluctuates throughout the day. So that’s what we need. We need efficient markets. 

Asked if he envisaged a time Nigerians would pay less for electricity, Shonibare answered in the affirmative, noting that the cost of self generation was much higher than getting power from the grid.

“Well, for any country to reach industrialization, you need to have very cheap baseload power. We’ve seen that with China, we’ve seen that in the past, Germany used to have that. If you can produce electricity, very cheap electricity, your products are going to be very cheap.

“And Nigeria has that opportunity to be the kind of manufacturing base for at least West Africa, if not the whole of Africa. If we can get that power issue right, then we can add value to our production. We don’t just sell raw materials. You have an aluminium smelter.

“You know, to do an aluminium smelter, 40% of the cost is power. You know, if you can get that right, we’ll be producing aluminium, then we’ll have an automotive market where we can make cars. You know, so all of these things are very linked.”

Some Nigerians on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to take swift action to address the collapse of the National Grid.

The grid, which generates about 4,500 MW of electricity for over 200 million people, recently collapsed, impacting businesses and threatening the nation’s economic stability.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Mr Augustine Nnadozie stated, “The situation is not encouraging.

“This is the third time the National Grid has collapsed this week, and I stand to be corrected.

“We want those managing the grid to find lasting solutions to the problem. I urge the National Assembly and Federal Government to take action to address this issue”.

Joy Okoye, a trader selling frozen foods at Garki Modern Market in Abuja, recounted her losses due to the ongoing power failures.

She said, “The situation in the country is not funny at all. We can’t buy fuel to power the generator.

“There’s no electricity, and all my seafood has defrosted, which is a significant setback.

“The government needs to intervene and find a permanent solution to this issue”.

Haruna Adamu, a Point of Sale operator, lamented the impact of the situation on his business.

He noted that charging his devices used to cost N50, but it has now increased to N200.

“I am sad. As you can see, my two PoS devices are down because there is no power to operate them. If you go to vendors, they will charge you N200 instead of N50.

“What can I do? The government needs to help us. I am a graduate, and I operate a PoS business because there are no job opportunities. Now, I feel discouraged,” he said.

NAN reports that, aside from Niger and Kwara, 17 states in the North have been without electricity supply for the past two weeks.

This has severely disrupted business activities and made life increasingly difficult for residents in the affected states.

Read Also: Unending grid collapse

NAN quotes Mr Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, as saying that electricity would be restored to the 17 northern states that have suffered blackouts due to the vandalisation of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line.

He explained that the disruption in electricity supply to the northern region was caused by the vandalism of this major transmission line.

However, he assured that the line would be repaired within three to five days.

“Mr President has instructed the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defense Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Chief of Air Staff to provide the necessary security for the workers who will repair the damaged line.

“With adequate security in place, the Transmission Company of Nigeria staff and contractors will feel confident to go to the field and complete the repairs.

“I appeal to our northern brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, to bear with us. Very soon, electricity will be restored, and we must all collectively protect our national grid to avoid further vandalism,” said the minister.

(NAN)

Dr Elijah Adakole, Head, Corporate Communications, Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), says the reoccurring national power grid collapse is affecting Distribution Companies’ (DISCOs) revenue generation.

Adakole, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Saturday in Jos.

He explained that most of JElDC’s customers for instance, were on the company’s pre paid metering system, which meant they would only pay for energy consumed.

He therefore, noted that the unavailability of power to distribute to consumers would invariably lead to zero revenue collection, a situation that would lead to serious financial losses.

According to Adakole, the incessant collapse of the grid, also has a devastating impact on the economy as most businesses are dependent on electricity at both the macro and mirco levels.

He called on the Federal Government, to seek long lasting solutions to the issue.

Mr Steve Aluko, a civil society activist, said the recurring collapse of the grid should be of great concern because of its devastating consequences on the country’s economy and wellbeing of citizens.

Mr Samson Benson, a welder, said the lack of electricity supply was crippling his business.

Benson expressed worry that he was not making profit and also could loose his clients because of his inability to deliver at the scheduled time due to power challenge.

Read Also: Adelabu summons TCN, NERC over grid collapse

‘Most of the profit I would have made, was expended in the purchase of diesel to power my generating set to enable me work.

” Even at that, I wasn’t able to deliver my clients items as scheduled, due to the unavailability of electricity ” he said.

Benson appealed to the government to proffer a lasting solution to the incessant grid collapse as most businesses were dependent on electricity.

Similarly, Mrs Alice Dung, a salon operator, said the lack of power supply was affecting her business negatively as she was now unable to offer all her clients’ required services.

(NAN)

The national grid has lost 1,800MW as the vandals destroyed two transmission towers along its 330kV Shiroro–Kaduna transmission lines.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) made this known on Friday, October 18, in a press statement by its public affairs general manager, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah issued from Abuja.

She said: “The vandalized Shiroro – Kaduna 330kV lines 1&2 are vital lines through which bulk power is transmitted to parts of the North West region, with each line capable of carrying 600MW.”

The statement said two towers along its 330kV Shiroro–Kaduna transmission lines one and two have been vandalized, damaging parts of both transmission lines.

According to reports from the Shiroro Regional office of TCN, the 330kV transmission line one tripped first, followed shortly by the second, as efforts were still ongoing to reclose the first line, prompting the urgent mobilization of local vigilantes to patrol the lines. This led to the discovery of two damaged towers, towers T133 and tower T 136, with their cables badly damaged at several points.

The statement said arrangements are in top gear to deploy the newly procured “emergency restoration system” to the site, pending the reconstruction of the damaged towers.

Read Also: Incessant collapse of the national grid

The company said it has also conducted an aerial survey in collaboration with security operatives, given the area’s vulnerability to banditry, which poses a significant threat to both TCN installations and personnel.

In the interim, according to the statement, “Our engineers have implemented a temporary measure to supply bulk power to the Kaduna and Kano regions via the 330kV Kaduna – Jos’ transmission line.

“The vandalism of the towers and transmission lines presents a significant challenge to bulk power transmission in that axis. We are however committed to re-erecting the towers and restringing the transmission lines to restore bulk power transmission through both 330kV power transmission lines.”

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said it restored the partially collapsed grid and sent out 64,467.24MWH an average of 2,686.135W to the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) on Sunday, February 4.

Besides, the TCN also noted that the total energy generated on the day under review was 65,604.49MWH, an average of 2,733.52MW.

Meanwhile, a document The Nation obtained from the TCN indicated that it sent out 2,651MW to the 11 DisCos at 4:38 pm.

Owing to the low energy generation on Sunday, about four DisCos got zero energy allocation from the TCN.

The company’s Public Affairs, General Manager, Ndidi Mbah issues a press statement at 9:26 pm on Sunday describing the situation as a “partial system disturbance.”

The statement blamed the matter on lingering gas supply constraints.

Her statement noted that the grid had been fully restored.

Read Also: Electricity: National grid restored after partial disturbance – TCN

The statement reads in part: “The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN hereby states that the grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 11:21Hours today with Ibom power islanded, feeding Eket, Ekim, Itu & Uyo transmission substations, during the period of partial disturbance. TCN initiated immediate restoration of the affected part of the grid, and presently, the grid is fully restored.

“Prior to the incident, total generation on the grid was 3,901.25 MW at 08:00 hours, a little over three hours before the time of the partial collapse. It is important to note that low power generation has persisted since January 2024, to date, exacerbating daily due to the lingering gas constraint.

“According to the National Control Center (NCC), the Internet of Things (IoT) revealed that just before the partial disturbance, which occurred at 11:21Hrs today, Sapele Steam & Egbin Substations lost a total of 29.32MW & 343.84MW at 11:20:14Hrs & 11:20:17Hrs respectively, totalling 373.16MW.

“This, combined with the current low power generation due to gas constraints, caused the imbalance leading to the partial system disturbance.

“Gas constraints continue to impact grid flexibility and stability. Ensuring sufficient gas supply to power generating stations is crucial for grid stability as sufficient generation allows for better grid management in the event of sudden generation losses like this. TCN will investigate the cause of tripping of Sapele Steam & Egbin power generating units.”