Blackout: Six Power Plants Reconnected, Power 90% Restored – TCN

Recovery efforts are underway 24 hours after Nigeria's electricity grid experienced its sixth collapse of the year.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has reassured consumers that full restoration will be achieved soon. It added that power restoration was at 90%.

Data from the independent system operator, reviewed by Vanguard, showed that by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, six power plants were back on the grid, generating a combined total of 714.16 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

Earlier in the day, around 9 a.m., grid generation had peaked at 1,884.48MW but later dropped drastically to 48.60MW, leaving only Ibom Power operational.

However, recovery efforts resumed shortly after, with Shiroro Hydro coming back online.

In a statement, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, explained that the “national grid experienced a partial disturbance on Monday, October 14, 2024, at around 6:48 p.m., and efforts to fully restore the grid are ongoing.”

Mbah added, “Although grid recovery started immediately, with Azura power station initiating the blackstart, the process reached advanced stages by 10:24 a.m. today, but a challenge caused a slight setback.”

Despite the setback, Mbah noted that TCN continued its recovery efforts, and grid restoration is now at an advanced stage, with power supply restored to about 90% of TCN substations across the country. The Abuja area and other major distribution centers have regained power.

The statement also clarified that the partial disturbance did not impact the Ibom Gas power plant, which had been isolated from the grid. Ibom continued to supply electricity to the South-South region, including Eket, Ekim, Uyo, and Itu 132kV substations.

Mbah concluded by saying that a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted once the grid is fully restored.