The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has revealed that preparations are in progress to hold an investigative public hearing on the frequent occurrences of power outages and grid disruptions across the country. This move is to determine the close and far-off causes of recurrent incidents is the goal. In a post on its official X account, the commission expressed concern about the recent rise in grid disturbances, which frequently cause significant outages in multiple states and undermine many of the recent advances made in minimizing the Infrastructure deficit and enhancing grid stability.
It further stated that preliminary reports on the October 19 grid disturbance suggested that the outage was caused by the explosion of a current transformer at the Jebba transmission station at 8:15 a.m. and the subsequent shutdown of a series of power plants due to a lack of load. According to the commission, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Plc’s System Operator (SO) function is currently being unbundled in accordance with the Electricity Act 2023. This is being done in the hopes that an independent SO will promote greater grid management structure and maximize infrastructure investment.
NESI stakeholders urged to be at the public hearing.
In accordance with Section 48, subsection 1 of the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is mandated to hold public hearings on important matters concerning the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). The Commission has set a hearing for October 24, 2024, and encourages NESI stakeholders, Civil Society organizations, and the general public to attend. The purpose of the public hearing was to identify a long-term solution to the national grid’s problems. Frequent power outages in Nigeria have been a serious and persistent problem that has an impact on infrastructure, daily life, and economic development.
Despite numerous reforms and significant Investment over the years, reliable electricity is still a pipe dream for all Nigerians due to a number of structural problems that have plagued the nation’s power sector. The frequent outages are not merely a short-term frustration, rather, they are a sign of more serious governance, economic, and infrastructure issues that the country has yet to resolve. Nigeria’s power grid experienced multiple collapses in 2022, 2023, and 2024, reflecting the ongoing challenges in the country’s electricity infrastructure.
Several DisCos have reported power disruptions.
Nigeria has already witnessed about 7 national grid collapses this year. These events caused nationwide blackouts, affecting major cities, industries, and households. The government and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) attributed the collapse to technical failures, including a lack of maintenance and overloading of transmission lines. Efforts to restore power were hindered by the aging infrastructure, which remains a persistent issue despite ongoing reforms. At least four major collapses were recorded in 2023. One of the most significant collapses occurred in September 2023, plunging the entire country into darkness. The country has experienced multiple power outages in 2022, with at least seven major incidents recorded.
Across 2024-2022, the root causes of the grid collapses have remained mainly the same, highlighting systemic challenges within Nigeria’s power sector. Besides the national grid collapse, several Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have reported power disruptions in their franchise area. On October 22, the Abuja DisCo reported a Power Outage due to a technical issue with the 45MVA Transformer TR2 Apo Transmission Substation. Likewise, Yola DisCo reported a power outage caused by a supply outage beyond the 330/132 kV Yola TCN station on October 21. Kano DisCo also reported that the 330kV Ugaji-Makurdi-Jos line tripped on October 21, 2024, from the Enugu Transmission Station, causing the current power outage in its franchise.
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Meanwhile, the TCN has observed that Nigeria’s deteriorating infrastructure is the main source of its electricity challenges. It mentioned that some of its equipment is about 40 to 50 years old. As a result, transmission lines, transformers, and power plants are regularly prone to malfunction, leading to frequent outages that leave large regions without electricity for prolonged periods of time. Even when fixes are done, they are frequently haphazard fixes that don’t deal with the system’s fundamental flaws.