The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported yesterday that a fault on the Benin-Egbin transmission line was responsible for a significant drop in power supply by 3,167 Megawatts, which left numerous areas across the country without electricity on Monday. The national grid supply plummeted to a mere 1,269MW on Monday afternoon, a stark decline from a peak generation capacity of 4,436MW, with many power plants being unable to contribute to the grid during that time.
In a detailed statement issued by the Head of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, TCN clarified that the grid did not experience a collapse due to this fault, which is an important distinction in understanding the situation. Mbah further informed that the fault had been promptly identified and addressed, leading to the restoration of power supply throughout various regions of the country.
Specifically, Mbah highlighted that at approximately 6:10 PM on the evening of August 5, 2024, power supply was successfully restored to the locations that had been adversely affected by the arcing incident on the Benin-Egbin 330kV isolator. This incident caused the lines to trip, which in turn resulted in a significant loss of electricity supply to several areas.
She elaborated on the series of events, stating that the issues began earlier in the day at around 2:47 PM when a heavy system surge led to the arcing of the Benin–Egbin 330kV line isolator fingers located at the Egbin Transmission Substation switchyard. This event triggered a tripping at the Egbin Generating Station, leading to an extensive power loss affecting all outgoing lines from the Egbin Transmission Substations.
Mbah further explained that this situation created an exponential increase in load on the Osogbo-Ihovbor 330kV line 1, resulting in significant arcing of the isolator terminals on that same line. To prevent the cascading effects of this sequence of events from impacting the stability of the national grid, the operators made the decision to open the Osogbo–Ihovbor 330kV line in order to temporarily cut off the flow of electricity along that particular line.
However, approximately at 2:56 PM, the Circuit Breaker for the Benin-Egbin 330kV line 1 also tripped at the Benin Transmission Substation end, leading to further loss of power supply to the Lagos axis as well as to various parts of the South West Region, certain sections of the North Central region, including Abuja.
Mbah also noted that despite these disruptions, other areas such as the South Eastern region, the North East, and additional parts of the North Central and South West regions continued to enjoy full power supply during this challenging period.
Fortunately, the line tripping was resolved quickly, which allowed the grid controller to resume full bulk power supply through the transmission lines at approximately 6:10 PM yesterday, marking a return to normalcy in electricity supply across the affected regions.
Additionally, related news items included an update indicating that the All Progressives Congress (APC) summoned Senator Ndume, with efforts being made to reinstate him as Senate Whip. Furthermore, discussions were ongoing regarding support for Aiyedatiwa in the Ondo gubernatorial race, emphasizing unity among the eight representative members.
In an overview of the national grid’s performance based on data provided by the National System Operator, it was revealed that by 12 PM on Tuesday, power generation had recovered, rising to 3,636MW, with 16 power plants successfully contributing to the grid, signifying a positive shift as the situation improved.
