Nationwide Blackout As National Grid Collapses For The First Time In 2024

The national grid has collapsed for the first time in 2024, which has resulted in a nationwide blackout.

Naija News reports that the grid collapsed 11:21am on Sunday.

The situation led to shut down of all 20 power plants, except Ibom Power with 31 megawatts.

Confirming the development, the management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) said the power outage was a result of a system failure from the national grid “at 11:21 hours today, 4th February 2024 which has led to a nationwide power outage.”

While appealing for patience among its customers, it assured that it is working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid is stabilized.

Nigeria Pays The Lowest Electricity Tariff Compared To Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger – Says Adelabu

Meanwhile, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said that Nigeria still pays the lowest electricity tariff compared to other countries in West Africa such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Niger.

In the future, the power minister emphasized the importance of discussing whether Nigeria should bear the actual cost of power, as it is no longer inexpensive.

Adelabu insists that most of the West African countries are paying nearly twice as much as Nigeria on electricity tariffs.

The Minister, however, expressed his concerns regarding the inadequate electricity supply in the country.

He attributed this issue to various factors, including outstanding subsidy debts. Adelabu suggests that if the federal government is unable to pay the owed subsidies to the market, which is one of the factors affecting the power supply, Nigeria should transition to a full cost-reflective tariff system.

Furthermore, the Minister highlighted the under-utilization of the National Independent Power Plants (NIPPs) managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Plc (NDPHC). This is primarily due to the consistent shortage of gas supply.

Naija News understands that Adelabu stated these during his nationwide inspection visit to power installations of the federal government.

Adelabu visited the Olorunsogo Power Generating Plant in Ogun State, which has a capacity of 750 megawatts (MW), and the Omotosho Generating Plant in Ondo State, which has a capacity of 500mw.

Speaking during the inspection, the minister said, “We have been to Olorunsogo and we are now in the Omotosho Power Plant. These are big power plants. I am impressed with the size and the technology of the power plants here. Their operational history is also impressive.

“And I am amazed at the level of underutilisation of these power installations. Each of them operates below 25 per cent capacity, when we are still complaining that power generation is low in this country. The under-capacity utilisation is due to a variety of reasons.

“The major part of it is the shortage in gas supply to these installations, which is why I needed to see these plants myself, to look at what can we do to improve the operational capacity of these plants.”