Barely three weeks after the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) celebrated an impressive span of 400 consecutive days without major disruptions or systems collapse, the national grid has collapsed throwing the entire country into darkness.
TheFact Daily checks through the TCN National Control Centre (NCC) Osogbo in Osun State revealed that the grid dropped to 273 at 00:41 AM, as most of the generating feeders were out.
The TCN National Control Centre (NCC) Osogbo is the electricity system regional control centre responsible for all grid operations, monitoring and control for the TCN within the transmission network.
Recall, on August 29, 2023, the TCN announced that the Nigerian power grid has recorded an unparalleled period of stability in the history of the power sector, operating without any major disruptions or systems collapse for an impressive span of 400 consecutive days and still counting.
TCN’s General Manager, Mrs Ndidi Mbah announced the extraordinary milestone achievement in a statement on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.
The Company said, the milestone signifies a remarkable advancement in the nation’s efforts at strengthening its power infrastructure and ensuring a reliable electricity supply to distribution load centres for onward distribution to electricity customers nationwide.
It said, the sustained stability and reliability of the Nigerian power grid could be attributed to a combination of strategic measures and investments in the power system by the Management of the TCN.
The GM listed some of the key elements that have contributed to the remarkable accomplishment including Configuration and Enforcement of Free Governor Control, effective Under-frequency Relay Scheme among others.
She said that “TCN constituted a three-person committee was formed to go round the country for the configuration and activation of Primary Reserve in coordination with power stations and line with the provisions in the Grid code.
“This committee devised a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism for generating station compliance after activating the unit governor control. This innovative approach, known as the Free Governor Mode of Operation (FGMO), automatically adjusts generation in response to frequency changes, ensuring stability, reliability, and reduced transmission losses.
“Under Frequency Relay Scheme, counters the challenges posed by occasional generation shortfalls and resulting frequency declines, TCN implemented a strategic deployment of under frequency relay scheme. This scheme operates in critical stages to prevent frequency-related disruptions by initiating circuit breaker trips or alerting network operators, thereby averting system collapse”, she said.
