By Okafor Joseph Afam | November 7, 2024

The Nigerian government has pinpointed poor maintenance practices and outdated equipment as primary contributors to the frequent collapses of the country’s national power grid, which has faced a series of breakdowns in recent months.

At a presentation held on Wednesday at the Ministry of Power headquarters in Abuja, the Chairperson of the investigative committee, Nafisatu Asabe Ali, shared the findings of their report. She explained that inadequate infrastructure and voltage surges exceeding equipment capacity were responsible for recent grid failures, including those on October 14 and 19, 2024.

Ali detailed the committee’s investigation, which uncovered numerous issues affecting key transmission stations across the country. For instance, lightning arrestors at the Jebba and Osogbo transmission stations were found to be damaged, and an explosion had occurred at the Jebba station. These incidents contributed to widespread blackouts, with the latest collapse on October 29 marking the tenth of the year.

The report emphasized that high voltage surges were a significant cause of the damage. Ali elaborated that the Jebba station’s shunt reactor was unable to function due to the absence of a backup reactor, which worsened the situation. She explained, “We had two shunt reactors in Jebba before this incident, but one failed. The faulty reactor caused the voltage to rise to about 400KV, surpassing the threshold. High voltage damages equipment insulation.”

The report also revealed the detrimental effects of prolonged exposure to high voltages, which leads to insulation degradation and equipment failure. Ali noted that Jebba’s equipment, commissioned in 1968, was some of the oldest in the country, with aging infrastructure and poor maintenance practices being key concerns.

Further findings highlighted several challenges, including the vandalism of power infrastructure, a lack of spare governors at power plants, disorganized maintenance schedules, and insufficient human resources.

In response to the report, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu vowed to seek additional funding through the 2024 Supplementary Budget and the 2025 Appropriation Bill to address the financial difficulties that have hindered the implementation of solutions. He expressed his determination to tackle the issue head-on, stating, “This persistent grid collapse, which is both unfortunate and concerning to me as the Minister of Power, overseeing this sector, must be addressed.”

Adelabu also revealed that an updated report would be submitted to President Tinubu, outlining the financial requirements needed to address the ongoing crisis.

The committee’s recommendations included conducting audits and tests on existing equipment, improving maintenance of transmission lines and equipment, installing harmonics filters for Distribution and Generation companies (Discos and Gencos), decentralizing the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)’s central store, enforcing the Free Governor Mode of Operation, and eliminating the use of ad-hoc taped optic fiber for Optical Ground Wires.

The findings from this committee’s investigation highlight the urgent need for systemic changes to prevent further collapses and improve the reliability of Nigeria’s national power grid.