Grid ​‌‍‍‍‍⁠⁠‍‍​​​‍‍‍⁠‌​instability not responsible for IE Band A outage — TCN

The management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Friday said grid instability was not responsible for the Ikeja Electric (IE) Band A outage reported by the company on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4. Ms. Ndidi Mba, the General Manager of the Corporate Communication Unit of TCN, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos. According to her, TCN described the attribution as inaccurate and misleading, saying that the determination of the root cause of disturbances, shortfalls, and interruptions on the national grid was not the responsibility of a Distribution Company (DisCo).

“By virtue of Section 67 of the Electricity Act 2023, the determination of the root cause of disturbances, shortfalls, and interruptions on the national grid falls exclusively within the defined functions of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO). “IE, like every other market participant, has no authority to make such determinations, and NISO has made no such attribution of the outages in IE’s notice to TCN,” she said.

Mba said that NISO had already explained the situation, attributing the current decline in power generation to gas supply constraints to thermal power stations and reduced output from hydroelectric stations due to lower reservoir inflows. She said that the reduced generation had affected the energy allocated to DisCos, resulting in fewer hours of electricity supply and increased load shedding across distribution networks.

“The impact on each DisCo varies with available generation and its allocation,” she said. Mba said that the shortfall in electricity supply to IE’s customers was a consequence of reduced generation and the resulting allocation, not any failure of TCN’s transmission network. “TCN can only transmit the energy made available to it and cannot transmit energy that is not generated.

“The records for all feeders supplying IE confirm the national picture NISO described. “Of the interruptions recorded on Nov. 1 and 2, 68 percent were frequency-control load shedding arising from low generation. “A further 26 percent were due to IE’s non-compliance with load allocation by the National Control Centre (NCC) of NISO or to faults and works on IKEDC’s own network.

“The remaining six percent were TCN planned maintenance, switching, or a line limitation. None of the recorded interruptions was a TCN equipment fault or trip,” she said. According to her, the feeders listed in IE’s notice also did not support the company’s claim. “Of the 46 interruptions recorded on the 33kV feeders named in the notice, 29 were frequency-control load shedding arising from low generation, while 14 were recorded against IKEDC.

“Nine were for non-compliance with load allocation, and five for faults or trips on its own network. The other three were scheduled TCN maintenance on the Ogba-Alimosho line on Nov. 1.” Mba said that on Nov. 2, the Rack Centre feeder was interrupted by a cable fault on IE’s network, which its crew repaired. “IE’s notice itself assigns several of these feeders, including MTN, Iju Water Works, and Rack Centre, to IE for 33 kV faults,” she said.

She said that IE’s position was therefore inconsistent with the actual situation in the Nigerian electricity supply industry. Mba said that attributing shortfalls caused by generation constraints to TCN could misinform customers, undermine public confidence, and obscure the challenges requiring collective efforts by stakeholders. TCN urged IE and other DisCos to desist from making unfounded claims about the causes of electricity supply shortfalls to their customers.

“DisCos should communicate based on verified information from NISO, the body responsible for the operation of the grid,” she said. She urged electricity customers to refer to NISO’s official platforms for accurate information on the state of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. MBA said that TCN sympathized with customers affected by the reduced hours of electricity supply.

“It remains committed to transmitting all available energy safely, reliably, and efficiently within the prevailing operational constraints, and to working with NISO, generation companies, and DisCos to improve the situation,” she said. (NAN)