By Cross Udo, Abuja
The national grid yesterday collapsed again, making it the 12th time in the last 12 months of 2024.
According to the Independent System Operator (ISO) website, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), as of 2 pm yesterday, all the generation power plants on the grid did not produce electricity.
At 1 pm, all the generation power plants contributed only an average of 3,087 megawatts.
Jos Disco confirmed the collapse in a statement.
It said, “The current outage being experienced within our franchise States is a result of a loss of power supply from the national grid.
“The loss of power supply from the national grid occurred this afternoon at about 1333 hours of today, Wednesday, 11th December 2024, hence the loss of power supply on all our feeders.
“We hope to restore regular power supply to our esteemed customers as soon as the grid supply is restored.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we strive to serve you better.”
*We’ll add 150mw to power grid by year-end- Minister Adelabu
Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured that 150 megawatts will be added to the national grid before the end of 2024.
Adelabu gave the assurance while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting President Bola Tinubu and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He outlined the progress made under the Siemens-led Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), attributing the upcoming boost in power capacity to the near completion of the initiative’s pilot phase.
He said, “We have completed about 80% of the pilot stage, which includes the importation, installation, and commissioning of 10 power transformers and 10 power mobile substations.
“These efforts have already added 750 megawatts to our grid capacity, and by year-end, an additional 150 megawatts will be realized upon full completion of the pilot phase.”
The Minister acknowledged the aging and fragile state of Nigeria’s power grid and stressed the necessity of the Siemens project to ensure long-term stability.
He noted that the next phase involves rehabilitating 14 existing substations and establishing 23 new substations nationwide.
“We are transitioning to Phase One of the project, with the first batch of this phase already concluded in terms of commercial agreements,” he said.
The Bureau of Public Procurement is expected to approve the financing arrangements soon. Then, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will finalize them.
Adelabu expressed optimism about the initiative’s transformative impact: “When Phase One is complete, Nigeria’s power grid will not remain the same. This project will redefine grid stability and efficiency across the country.”
In addition to grid enhancements, Nigeria is strengthening its partnership with Germany to expand renewable energy sources.
Adelabu highlighted the country’s potential in solar, wind, and hydropower.
“Germany has the technology, and we have the natural resources,” he said, citing over 30 Nigerian states with at least 10 hours of daily sunshine and abundant wind potential in both northern desert areas and southern coastal regions.
Adelabu also noted the underutilization of Nigeria’s 300 dams for hydropower, which could be unlocked through new infrastructure developments, including the Badagry-Sokoto road.
The Minister stressed the importance of off-grid power systems to ensure energy access for rural and underserved communities.
“Each of our 36 states and the FCT will have their own embedded generation plants, creating a distributed power model that shields them from national grid challenges,” Adelabu explained.
While no new agreements were signed during the meeting with President Steinmeier, Adelabu emphasized a shared commitment to accelerating existing projects.
“The focus is on expediting the implementation of our current agreements to achieve expanded energy access and grid stability for Nigerians,” he stated.
