The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has debunked reports claiming that Nigeria’s national power grid collapsed twice in 24 hours, explaining that what occurred was a technical issue known as a “trip-off” rather than a complete grid collapse.
In an interview with The PUNCH, Adelabu stated, “There was no a grid collapse; there was a trip-off. When you talk of grid collapse, it will involve 100 per cent of our grid infrastructure. But this was a line tripping in certain quarters in the country; even the major centres were not affected, talk of Abuja, Lagos, and Ibadan. And this was even restored within two hours.
“Let me tell you, grid disturbances are global. We are talking about electrical connections. There could be tripping off due to weather, due to the dilapidation of some infrastructure. What matters most is what is your rate of response to fix this. We responded swiftly and within two hours, we brought it back and it’s working now. So, it’s no big deal.”
The incident, which happened between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, caused power outages in different parts of Nigeria, leading to confusion and reports of a grid collapse.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) released a statement addressing the situation.
According to Ndidi Mbah, the TCN’s spokesperson, recovery efforts began immediately after the trip-off, with the Azura power station initiating the process to bring the grid back online.
Although most of the system had been restored by Tuesday morning, another minor issue slowed down the full recovery.
Mbah mentioned that by around 10:24 a.m. on Tuesday, the grid had reached an advanced stage of recovery, supplying power to about 90% of the substations across the country.
However, as of 7:00 p.m. that day, some areas remained in darkness. She also noted that certain parts of the country, like the South-South region, were not affected by the disturbance.
“The Ibom Gas generating station continued to supply power to areas like Eket, Uyo, and Itu during the period,” she said.
The TCN has announced that a full investigation into the cause of the trip-off will be conducted once the grid is completely restored, ensuring that steps can be taken to prevent future occurrences.
