The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) denies allegations of a national grid meltdown.
Earlier on Saturday, media reports suggested that the country witnessed a blackout due to a failure of the national grid.
In a statement, Ndidi Mbah, TCN‘s general manager of public affairs, stated that the incident was caused by a power tripping on the Benin-Omotosho 330 kilovolt (kV) line.
“Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, hereby states that the nation’s grid did not experience any collapse today, contrary to the widely published misinformation in the media,” the statement reads.
“Earlier today, at about 13:41Hrs, the Osogbo – Ihovbor line tripped, followed by the tripping of the Benin – Omotosho line. These consequently affected bulk supply to only the Lagos axis alone.
“It is important to clarify that at about 13:00 Hrs, today, just before the tripping, total generation on the grid was 4,335.63MW.
“After the trippings, however, generation was 2,573.23MW, showing clearly that the grid did not experience a collapse.
“The transmission line tripping affected Egbin, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Geregu, and Paras, but these have all been restored except for the Benin Omotosho 330kV line whose restoration is ongoing.
“As TCN continues to work hard to put in place a robust transmission grid, in spite of prevailing challenges. It is imperative that we understand the negative impact of deliberately misinforming the public and the value of disseminating true and verifiable facts.”
Nigeria’s national grid has seen numerous failures in the last year, resulting in widespread blackouts.
In 2024, the national grid crashed eleven times.
Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, stated on October 17, 2024, that regular system failures on the national grid were unavoidable owing to antiquated infrastructure.
