.Says FG taking the issue seriously
The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, has attributed frequent grid collapses to vandalism and lack of maintenance in the past.
Adelabu, receiving the report of the committee set up to address grid collapses in Abuja on Wednesday, stressed that most 2024 incidents resulted from vandalism and theft of power equipment.
He said lack of good maintenance and external factors also contributed to the collapses.
“The Federal Government is taking the issue seriously, requiring urgent attention, ”he said.
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Adelabu assured that the ministry would review the report, make amendments, and submit it to President Bola Tinubu.
He said the ministry would push for additional funding from the 2024 Supplementary Budget and the 2025 Appropriation Bill to address the financial implications of strategies needed to curb the incessant grid collapses.
He expressed optimism that the frequent collapses of Nigeria’s power grid system could be mitigated with the implementation of far-reaching reforms, stating, “This incessant grid collapse, which is quite unfortunate, is worrisome to me personally as the Honourable Minister of Power overseeing this sector.”
He said: “Today’s meeting is to receive a report on the agency committee set up about two and a half weeks ago to reveal the root causes of the incessant grid disturbances we have experienced in the past few months. This is not good for us as a country. It is not good for the power sector. It is not good for the Ministry of Power and other agencies.
“Out of this, there will be an amended report after this meeting, which will help me to submit to Mr. President, because all these have financial implications. And it must be recognised for inclusion in the 2025 budget.
“We will not wait until then for implementation. Whatever we can cover within our 2025 budget now, and even if possible, through a supplementary budget, because it is a national issue and must be addressed.”
The six-member committee, chaired by Mrs Nafisat Ali, Executive Director of the Independent System Operator (ISO), identified specific causes for recent collapses.
Ali said the causes for recent collapse included shattering of lightning arrestors in Jebba and Osogbo transmission stations on Oct. 14, and explosion of a CT at Jebba Station, Oct. 19.
She said: “For the event on the 14th, lightning arrestors in Jebba and Osogbo shattered. The one in Jebba was for the shunt reactor, and this was caused by high voltage. Subsequently, we had the tripping of multiple 330kV lines. It kept going until it became a major issue.
“The remote cause of that is the unavailability of the second reactor in Jebba. Jebba, by the design of the network and sometimes the topology of the network at a particular time, is very prone to high voltage. We had two shunt reactors in Jebba before this event; however, one broke down.
“It is faulty, and so the voltage rose to about 400KV, which is beyond the threshold. High voltage degrades equipment insulation.
“If you expose equipment to high voltages for a long time, it degrades the insulation. And, of course, there’s a risk of failure. So, that was the remote cause for that. But the underlying causes are aged equipment. In our findings, we confirmed that Jebba was commissioned in 1968, and some of the equipment was installed alongside the substation. So, aged equipment and maintenance culture are key issues.
She said that the committee recommended reviewing relaying philosophy and settings within one month, enhancing capacity development for Maintenance and System Operator staff and testing existing equipment at critical nodes.
Ali said the committee emphasised that recommendations with financial implications would be included in the 2025 budget or addressed through a supplementary budget.
She added that the committee commended colleagues and stakeholders for swift responses to grid collapses, ensuring no collapse lasted over 24 hours.
The committee also made several recommendations, including the audit and testing of existing equipment, improvement in the maintenance of transmission equipment and lines, installation of harmonic filters by DisCo and GenCo customers, decentralisation of TCN central stores, enforcement of Free Governor Mode of Operation, and removal of ad-hoc taped optic fiber for Optical Ground Wires.
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