Fire Incident at Afam Power Generating Station Causes National Grid Collapse

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the full restoration of the national grid that collapsed earlier today following a fire incident at the Afam Power Generating Station in River State, plunging the entire nation into darkness.

The spokesperson for the commission, Ndidi Mbah, revealed in a statement that the grid’s collapse was caused by a fire outbreak at the Afam V 300kV bus bar coupler, leading to the tripping of units at Afam III and Afam VI. This is the third grid collapse in 2024.

The fire incident severely disrupted the grid, resulting in a partial collapse and widespread blackout across the country. The instability caused by the incident did not affect the Ibom Power Plant, which was isolated from the grid and remained responsible for supplying electricity to parts of Port Harcourt.

TCN clarified that the isolation of the Ibom Power Plant helped minimize the impact of the grid disturbance, ensuring that consumers in certain regions were not affected by the collapse. The grid collapse occurred around 2:00 am, with a sharp drop in generation from the four power generation companies.

Furthermore, load allocation to distribution companies was severely reduced following the collapse, with seven out of the eleven Discos receiving no load allocation initially. Only Ikeja, Benin, Abuja, and Ibadan Discos received minimal load allocation while the rest were left without power.

The nationwide blackout was a significant disruption to electricity supply in the country, highlighting the vulnerabilities in the power infrastructure. The TCN worked swiftly to restore the grid, bringing relief to consumers across the nation.