Nigerians were on Monday thrown into darkness again as the nation’s power grid collapsed for the fifth time in 2024.
BusinessDay had earlier reported that the national grid collapsed in the early hours of Monday, April 15, 2024.
It recorded an unprecedented zero megawatts (MW) at the time, and it was generating 52.3 MW around 7:10 a.m. on Monday morning.
Many homes and businesses have been thrown into darkness as electricity distribution companies struggled with the situation.
What is the national grid, and what does it mean to collapse?
The national grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from producers to consumers.
It consists of the generating plants that produce electricity, the transmission system that carries electricity from the generating centres to the distribution system, and the distribution system that feeds the electricity to homes, businesses, and other entities.
The collapse of the national grid in Nigeria refers to a situation where the entire power transmission system experiences a failure, leading to widespread electricity outages across the country.
This can happen due to various reasons, such as technical faults, insufficient generation, transmission challenges, or overloading of the grid. When the grid collapses, it disrupts the supply of electricity, affecting homes, businesses, and essential services.
The Nigerian national electricity grid is a complex network that includes generation companies, distribution companies, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
It’s designed to operate within certain limits to maintain stability. If these limits are exceeded or if there’s a mismatch between power supply and demand, it can lead to instability and potentially a grid collapse.
Restoring the grid after a collapse is a priority, but it can take time to bring all the connections back online.
The frequent collapses of the grid in Nigeria highlight the challenges in the country’s power sector, including the need for infrastructure improvements and diversification of energy sources.
