Vandalism of power lines, according to the Federal Government, is to blame for the latest electricity grid failure.
The declaration was made by Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Power, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media), Isa Sanusi.
The statement reads: “Further to our earlier press release, we wish to inform the general public that the immediate cause of the national blackout (system collapse) was an act of vandalism on a transmission tower on the Odukpani — Ikot Ekpene 330kV double circuit transmission line, resulting in a sudden loss of about 400MW of generation.” As a result, a slew of plants around the country were forced to close their doors.
“We wish to notify the public that power on the grid is being restored sequentially by the System Operator as other on-grid power plants are being dispatched to cover the lost generation capacity from the Calabar power plant owned by the Niger Power Holding Company Ltd.
The minister stated that the federal government is investigating the immediate and remote causes of the country’s periodic grid failures.
He said the process of restoring power supply is ongoing following the national grid collapse at 6.30 p. m. on Friday.
According to a Sanusi statement, some sectors of the national grid have already been energized, and supply has been restored to users.
“A detailed investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the recurring grid failure is currently ongoing by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and System Operator of the national grid.
“We wish to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working assiduously to deliver on the much-needed reforms and investments,” he said.
Sanusi stated that the reforms included investments in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and other vital infrastructure to improve the national grid’s capacity and dependability.
The reform, he added, was in accordance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s instruction to close infrastructural deficiencies in Nigeria’s important sectors.
