Connect with us

Metro

TCN Gives Update On Collapsed National Grid

Published

on

The Transmission Company of Nigeria on Sunday said the national power grid has been restored following Saturday’s collapse.

The TCN Public Affairs General Manager, Ndidi Mbah described the collapse as partial, saying that “there was a partial disturbance of the grid at about 15.09Hrs yesterday, 6th July 2024.”

According to her, the incident “brings to three, the partial grid disturbances, with one total disturbance this year.”

Advertisement

The TCN spokesperson said the grid collapse is suspected to have been triggered by the unexpected tripping of three units of a power-generating station which she said suddenly removed 313MW from the grid, causing system instability that led to the loss of bulk supply to a section of the national grid.

“Meanwhile, the system operator reacted to the sudden drop in generation which led to a dip in frequency by islanding a section of the grid which includes the Ibom Power Station through which the company continued to feed Uyo, Aba, Itu, Eket, Calabar, etc. even when the other section of the grid had no supply.

“Also, the operators commenced grid restoration efforts immediately after the incident. At about 21.57 hrs yesterday, the entire part of the grid that was affected by today’s incident was successfully restored,” Mbah said.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, electricity consumers have condemned the repeated collapse of the national power grid.

READ ALSO: Outage As National Grid Collapses Again

A checkconfirmed that power generation from all power plants dropped to a paltry 70MW at 3 pm after it peaked at 3916MW around 10 am on Saturday.

Advertisement

It was observed that the distribution companies got zero allocation as of Saturday evening.

This grid collapse came barely three days after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a tariff increase for Band A customers, from N206.80 per kilowatt-hour to N209.50/kWh.

While speaking with our correspondent, the Executive Director, Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, regretted that the grid keeps collapsing despite the hike in electricity tariff.

Advertisement

Okorie lamented that unmetered customers would still be made to pay for the period of the collapse, wondering what the government has been doing to stop the incidents.

“What are the causes of these grid collapses? Are the materials used in building the grip of good quality and standard? Who is managing the grid? The players in the sector are more interested in collecting money from the consumers rather than making the system stable.

READ ALSO: National Grid Restored After Strike Suspension – NUEE

Advertisement

“What you hear more about the power sector is payment. The money that the international communities are bringing to the industry and the money that is unlawfully collected from the consumers, where are they being utilised? The operational expenditures of the DisCos, and how do they spend them?

“In the past few months, they keep increasing tariffs yet there is inefficiency in the power sector. They are interested in collecting money, but whether the money is judiciously utilised or not, nobody cares.

“They keep overbilling customers. The desperation to collect revenue from customers for services not delivered is a challenge.

Advertisement

“Now that the grid collapsed, the unmetered customers will still be made to pay for darkness. That is injustice. The government should address this issue of grid collapse once and for all,” Okorie warned.

Also, the Convener and Executive Director of PowerUp Nigeria, an electricity consumer right and power sector policy advocacy organisation, Adetayo Adegbemle,  said everyone involved in the electricity value chain should be embarrassed by their inability to stop grid collapses.

Adegbemle held that some people should be shown the way out to fix the situation.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s FX Reserves Hit $34.7bn

“I think everyone involved in the value chain should be embarrassed by the regular occurrence and inability to put measures in place to avoid this constant grid collapse. It is unfortunate because everyone throws the blame on others

“And I believe if heads had been rolling for people not taking responsibility for it, someone would have stood up to fix this problem,” he stated.

Advertisement

Suggesting the way out, Adegbemle said, “There’s a need to align the value chain, this was something the Siemens deal boasted to achieve. I expect that if the head of TCN, for instance, is to lose his job tonight, the next MD would be more willing to work with other subsectors to ensure this does not happen again.

“From whatever we need to forestall this grid collapses, it is definitely in the hands of the leadership of the TCN, especially.”

Commenting on the grid disturbance on Saturday, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company said its TCN stations are out of supply, saying it is unable to provide services to customers in Abia, Anambra,  Ebonyi,  Enugu, and Imo States.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Confraternity Day: Edo Warns Against Unlawful Gatherings

“The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company wishes to inform its esteemed customers of a general system collapse which occurred at 15:09 hours today, 6th July 2024. This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network.

“Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our customers in Abia, Anambra,  Ebonyi,  Enugu, and Imo States.

Advertisement

“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre, Osogbo,” a statement by the EEDC Head of Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh, read.

Also, the Kano DisCo said, “We regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to system collapse of the national grid. The collapse occurred at about 3:10 pm, hence the loss of supply on all our outgoing feeders.

“Power supply shall be restored as soon as the National Grid is powered back. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”

Advertisement

Metro

NDLEA Arrests 54 Suspected Traffickers, Seizes 1,506.57kg of Drugs In Edo

Published

on

Operatives of the Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested 54 suspected drug traffickers with 1,506.57kg of various narcotic drugs.

The state commander of the agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting the operational scorecard of the command in Benin City.

Ofoyeju said the seizure of the drugs and arrest of the suspects took place in the month of September.

Advertisement

He added that a total of 66,078,57kg of skunk cannabis were destroyed by the Command in the period under review.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Lady Smuggling Drugs Inside Butt Pads, Phone Chargers

The Commander, who said that the command recorded significant successes in its operations within the month, added that it was part of its concerted effort to combat drug trafficking and abuse in the state.

Advertisement

He gave the breakdown of the arrested suspects to include 43 males and 11 females.

He also added that during the operation six illicit plantations spanning over 26.43 hectares were destroyed.

Ofoyeju explained that the destroyed plantations were located at Ugbogui Forest, Ovia South West, Ataroro Forest, Owan West, Urohi Forest, Esan West, and Ogu Forest, Igueben Local Government Areas of the State with an estimated yield of 66,078.5715 kg of skunk cannabis.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:NDLEA Busts Cartel, Recovers ₦6.4bn Drugs From Kingpins

“The command also intercepted 1,506.57kg of illicit drugs,” Mitchell stated while emphasising the command’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks operating within the state.

“The breakdown of the seized drugs is as follows: Cannabis Sativa 1,502. 26 Kg, psychotropic substances 4.27kg including tramadol 3.964kg, nitrazepam 0.087kg, Swinol 0.0445kg, Danabol (Molly) 0.1163kg, methamphetamine 0.0184 Kg, cocaine 0.028 Kg and heroin 0.014kg”, he said.

Advertisement

The NDLEA Commander in the state while expressing determination in the command’s campaign against drug trafficking, reiterated the importance of strategic operations in safeguarding communities and reducing drug demand.

He posited that the successs signified a critical step toward reclaiming the safety and health of citizens, as Edo State continues to grapple with the pressing issues of drug trafficking and abuse.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Metro

Army Officer Dies After Wife Allegedly Sets Him Ablaze In Akwa Ibom

Published

on

A Nigerian Army officer, Lieutenant Samson Haruna, has died after sustaining severe burns when his wife allegedly set him on fire during a domestic dispute in Akwa Ibom State.

The incident reportedly occurred on September 22, 2025, at the Wellington Bassey Barracks in Ibagwa, Abak Local Government Area of the state.

According to a report shared on X by counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama on Tuesday, the late officer, who served as a Regimental Medical Officer with the Army’s 6 Battalion, had a heated altercation with his wife, identified as Mrs. Samson Haruna, which escalated violently.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:14-year-old Dies After Botched Secret Breast Surgery

Sources cited by Makama alleged that during the argument, the woman doused her husband with petrol and set him ablaze.

Lt. Haruna was first treated at the military medical unit within the barracks before being transferred to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, where he later died from his injuries despite efforts by medical personnel to save him.

Advertisement

Military sources confirmed that the suspect has been arrested and remains in custody as investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Continue Reading

Metro

Stop Using Edo Money For Federal Roads, Residents Tell Okpebholo

Published

on

Residents of Benin, the Edo State capital have urged Governor Monday Okpebholo to stop using money accruing to the state on federal government projects.

The residents, who frowned at the governor’s unrelenting efforts in fixing federal roads, lamented that most state-owned roads are in the state of disrepair.

According to the residents, roads in the Government Reservation Area (GRA) have failed and are not motorable, adding that several other state-owned roads have failed and are in need of urgent repairs.

Advertisement

An Activist and head of Talakawas Parliament, in Edo State, Kola Edokpaiyi, said it was ‘busy body’ that made Okpebholo to abandon state-owned roads that are crying for attention in favour of federal roads.

READ ALSO:Okpebholo Poised To Surpassing People’s Expectations — Edo Deputy Gov

He said, “There are so many deplorable state roads in Edo State that are not motorable. We expect the Governor of Edo State to quickly give attention to them all before considering Federal Roads if the state is too rich.

Advertisement

“The Minister of Works, Mr. David Umahi has visited federal roads in Edo State about two times to ascertain how deplorable the roads are. He has already given the brief to Mr. President. We expect the Minister to swing into action based on the huge finance allocated by Federal Government to get the work done.

“I want to appeal to His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo to address the so many state roads that are bad.”

READ ALSO:Okpebholo Warns Companies Against Fuelling Edo–Delta Boundary Dispute

Advertisement

Also, a commercial driver, who plies between Ring Road and Ebvuotubu, Joseph Ikpigho, said he spent more money to fix his car due to bad roads.

Recall that Okpebholo has embarked on reconstruction of 23 kilometres of the Sapele Road axis of the East-West road.

He is also assisting the Federal Government to fix failed portions of the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi highway.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending