Fire outbreak caused national grid collapse; power restored: TCN

TCN’s spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, said the fire erupted at about 2:41 a.m. on Monday, resulting in a power outage in some areas nationwide.

Olumayowa Samuel • April 15, 2024

Power Grid used to illustrate the story (Credit: Nigerian Guardian)

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has blamed the partial collapse of the national grid on a fire outbreak at the Afam power generating station in Rivers.

In a press statement, TCN’s spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, said the fire erupted at about 2:41 a.m. on Monday, resulting in a power outage in some areas nationwide.

However, Ms Mbah said power had been restored after the grid collapsed for the fifth time in 2024.

“At 02:41Hrs today, 15th April 2024, a fire erupted at the Afam V 330kV bus bar coupler, leading to the tripping of units at Afam III and Afam VI.

“This resulted in a sudden generation loss of 25MW and 305MW, respectively, destabilising the grid and causing a partial collapse.

“During the incident, the Ibom Power plant was isolated from the grid and was supplying parts of the Port Harcourt Region.

“This further minimised the effect of the system disturbance. TCN confirms that the affected section of the grid has been fully restored and stabilised,” Ms Mbah said.

Ms Mbah reaffirmed TCN’s commitment to enhancing the resilience and reliability of the grid and pledged to continue investing in measures to strengthen its infrastructure.

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