For the past five days, millions of Nigerians have been left in the dark as a nationwide power outage continues to cripple daily life. However, this is no longer called “grid collapse” but “grid disturbance,” according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
BusinessDay reports that small business owners, hospitals, and households are grappling with the high cost of alternative power sources, as the national grid remains unreliable. For many, the outage is more than an inconvenience; it’s a threat to livelihoods and lives.
“I run a small bakery, and without electricity, I can’t power my ovens,” said Funke Adebayo, a mother of three in Ikeja, Lagos. “I have lost over N50,000 worth of perishable goods. How do I explain this to my children? How do we survive?”
So far this year, Nigeria has recorded two official grid disturbances; first in February 12 and the latest in March 7. Grid disturbance is now another term used to downplay the effect of partial collapse.
Since March 9, Lagos and Abuja have been experiencing blackouts on different levels, ranging from transmission faults to reduced power allocation, leading to load shedding.
“Why won’t they just tell us the truth?” asked Chinedu Okeke, a taxi driver. “We know it’s a grid collapse. We’ve seen it before. Hiding it doesn’t solve the problem. It just makes us lose trust in the system.”
Late Sunday, March 9, Ikeja Electric stated: “We regret to inform you that there has been a significant load-shedding exercise across Ikeja Electric’s franchise areas due to a fault on a transmission infrastructure. This has resulted in widespread power supply disruptions and instability.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) engineers are currently working tirelessly to resolve the issue and restore normal power supply as soon as possible.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience and understanding during this period. Further updates will be provided as we receive more information on the restoration efforts.”
The following morning, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, the other DisCo in Lagos, confirmed reduced power allocation and load-shedding in Lagos.
The DisCo stated: “This is to kindly update you that we are still experiencing reduced power allocation from our TCN partners due to faults on the 330kV lines feeding the Lagos region.
“The situation has resulted in the continued load-shedding across our network leading to the current power situation you are experiencing.
“Rest assured that we are taking all necessary steps to address the situation as we work closely with TCN and other partners to resolve the issue and ensure a more stable power supply soonest.”
In Abuja, more than 20 communities are currently experiencing blackouts over technical and feeder faults, according to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
“Dear valued customers in Jabi, kado, Life Camp, Idu, karmo, citec Mbora, Airport Road, Nile university, Karimajiji, Kuchingoro communities, Lugbe FHA 1, NIA Senior and Junior, Baba Gida Market, Mr Biggs, Tipper Garage, Okada Bridge and Peace Village, Lugbe FHA 2, AMAC Market, New Site Leg, Living Faith Leg, CBN Estate, Sharon leg, 1R Estate, NNPC, T.Pumpy, Rebando Football Arena and surrounding areas,” AEDC stated on Monday.
“We regret to inform you that the power outage is due to a technical fault on the feeder serving these areas. Our dedicated technical team is working tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible.”
“Grid disturbance” refers to minor disruptions in the grid’s normal operation, such as fluctuations in voltage or frequency. These disturbances may not lead to a complete loss of power but can cause instability in the system. They are often temporary and can be resolved without significant impact on consumers.
System outage, on the other hand, occurs when a specific part of the grid experiences a loss of power supply. This could be due to equipment failure, maintenance, or localised issues. Unlike a grid collapse, a system outage is usually confined to a particular area or region and does not affect the entire grid.
The commission revealed that a grid collapse (partial or full) is the most severe scenario, where the entire grid (or a significant portion of it) fails, leading to widespread power outages. A partial collapse affects only certain sections of the grid, while a full collapse results in a total blackout across the network.
According to the NERC, grid collapses are often caused by cascading failures, where an initial fault triggers a chain reaction of failures throughout the system.
