The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has rejected Ikeja Electric’s (IKEDC) attribution of recent Band A feeder outages to “grid instability”, insisting that the disruptions were largely caused by declining power generation and not failures on the transmission network.
In a press statement issued on Friday, TCN described IKEDC’s November 5 public notice as inaccurate and misleading, urging electricity customers to rely on clarifications from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) for verified information on the state of the national grid.
TCN explained that, under Section 67 of the Electricity Act 2023, the responsibility for determining the root causes of disturbances, shortfalls and interruptions on the national grid rests with NISO, not electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
It noted that NISO had already clarified on November 5 that the decline in power supply was caused by gas supply constraints to thermal power stations and reduced hydroelectric generation due to lower reservoir inflows. The constraints reduced available generation, resulting in lower energy allocations to DisCos, fewer hours of electricity supply and increased load shedding.
Citing operational records, TCN said 68 per cent of interruptions recorded across feeders supplying IKEDC on November 1 and 2 were frequency control load shedding resulting from low generation. Another 26 per cent were linked to IKEDC’s failure to comply with load allocations or faults and maintenance on its own distribution network, while only six per cent were attributable to TCN’s planned maintenance, switching operations or line limitations.
The company further disclosed that an analysis of 46 interruptions recorded on the 33kV feeders identified in IKEDC’s notice showed that 29 resulted from low generation related load shedding, while 14 were associated with IKEDC’s network operations, including nine cases of non compliance with load allocation and five faults or trips.
The remaining three interruptions were linked to scheduled TCN maintenance on the Ogba–Alimosho line on November 1. TCN also cited a cable fault on IKEDC’s network that disrupted the Rack Centre feeder on November 2, noting that the fault was repaired by IKEDC’s own crew.
According to TCN, none of the recorded interruptions resulted from a TCN equipment fault or trip.
The transmission company maintained that it could only transmit electricity generated and made available to it, stressing that the current supply shortfall was a generation challenge rather than a failure of its transmission infrastructure.
It warned that attributing generation related supply constraints to TCN could mislead electricity consumers, undermine public confidence and divert attention from the actual challenges confronting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
TCN consequently urged IKEDC and other DisCos to stop making unverified claims about the causes of power supply disruptions and to base public communications on information provided by NISO, which is responsible for grid operations.
The company, however, expressed sympathy for affected electricity consumers and reaffirmed its commitment to transmitting all available power safely and efficiently while working with NISO, generation companies and DisCos to improve electricity supply.
