Get Guardian on GoogleThe Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has rejected claims by Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) that power outages recorded on some of its feeders on November 3 and 4 were caused by grid instability, blaming the supply shortfall on reduced electricity generation.
TCN, in a statement issued on Friday, described IKEDC’s attribution of the outages to the national grid as inaccurate and misleading, insisting that the distribution company was responsible for some of the recorded interruptions.
The company said the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) had already explained that the decline in power generation resulted from gas supply constraints affecting thermal power stations and reduced output from hydroelectric plants due to lower reservoir inflows.
According to TCN, the reduced generation affected the amount of electricity allocated to distribution companies, resulting in fewer hours of supply and increased load shedding across their networks.
It maintained that the determination of the causes of disturbances and interruptions on the national grid falls within NISO’s statutory responsibilities under Section 67 of the Electricity Act 2023, not those of distribution companies.
TCN said records of interruptions across all feeders supplying IKEDC showed that 68 per cent of outages recorded on November 1 and 2 resulted from frequency-control load shedding caused by low electricity generation.
It attributed another 26 per cent to IKEDC’s failure to comply with load allocation directives issued by NISO’s National Control Centre, as well as faults and maintenance work on the distribution company’s network.
The remaining six per cent, according to TCN, resulted from its planned maintenance, switching operations or line limitations, adding that none of the recorded interruptions was caused by a fault or trip involving its equipment.
On the 46 interruptions recorded on the 33kV feeders listed in IKEDC’s notice, TCN said 29 resulted from frequency-control load shedding, while 14 were linked to the distribution company.
It explained that nine of the 14 interruptions resulted from IKEDC’s failure to comply with load allocation, while five were caused by faults or trips on its network. The remaining three were linked to scheduled TCN maintenance on the Ogba-Alimosho line on November 1.
The company also cited the Rack Centre feeder, which it said was interrupted on November 2 by a cable fault on IKEDC’s network that the distribution company’s crew repaired.
TCN accused IKEDC of misrepresenting the causes of supply interruptions, warning that attributing generation-related shortfalls to transmission operations could mislead electricity consumers and undermine public confidence.
It called on IKEDC and other distribution companies to stop making what it described as unfounded claims about the causes of electricity supply shortfalls and to rely on verified information from NISO.
The transmission company also advised electricity consumers to consult NISO’s official platforms for accurate information on the state of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
TCN said it sympathised with customers affected by reduced supply hours and remained committed to transmitting all available electricity safely and efficiently while working with NISO, generation companies and distribution companies to improve the situation.
