Electricity: DisCos blame TCN for grid system collapse

The distribution companies of Nigeria (Discos) have alleged that poor transmission network protection mechanism by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) led to the nine grid system collapse recorded so far in 2019.

Spokesman of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), the umbrella body of 10 power DisCos, Mr Sunday Oduntan, said this on Wednesday in Abuja.

Oduntan said that the companies regretted the unfortunate incident that occurred on Sunday, June 30 at the TCN Substation in Benin leaving Nigeria in darkness for hours.

He said the DisCos remain available to offer their technical assistance to TCN, to ensure that valued customers do not remain in darkness.

Oduntan said that the failure of the TCN Benin substation was the second of such occurrence in the same city within a year.

He said the trend of burnt transmission stations and failed transmission substation incidents in Lagos, Calabar, Abuja, Enugu and Onitsha within the year was due to inadequate transmission protection mechanisms and procedures.

He said ANED also expressed displeasure over TCN’s practice of arbitrary load dumping on the DisCos whenever the TCN is having challenges managing energy on its grid, causing a myriad of commercial and technical problems.

The DisCos said these deficiencies of TCN were captured in a July 2017 System Adequacy Report published by the Independent System Operator, a section of TCN.

According to him, ANED believes a properly protected transmission system will isolate faults.

“Unfortunately, the resultant effect is that we have experienced the ninth total black out in Nigeria this year (five times in January, once in April, twice in May and once in June).

“A rate of transmission failure that is in excess of one blackout per month is far beyond any international standard,” he said.

Oduntan said that over 100 partial and total transmission system collapses have been recorded since the sector’s privatisation in 2013, the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.