National grid suffers third collapse, worsens 20hrs power target
• Break up the monopoly to end electricity crisis, Osaikhuiwu urges FG
• Tariff hike: NUEE adamant on withdrawal, says members’ safety at risk
• New tariff may push labour’s minimum wage demand to N665,000
Nigeria’s power grid, operated from Osogbo in Osun State, collapsed in the early hours of yesterday, throwing the country into nationwide darkness amid ongoing furore over the hike in electricity tariff for premium consumers.
The collapse, which left the entire country without public power supply, compounded the challenges facing the new 20 hours minimum power supply requirements for the amended Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO), which increased the electricity tariff for Band A customers from N68 per kilowatt hour to N225/kWh.
The grid went down for the third time this year at about 2:41 a.m. and shut out all feeders supplying the nation’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
While the Federal Government had increased tariff by over 250 per cent for about two million households under Band A, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which is in charge of the grid and the distribution companies have been trading blame over the inability to meet up with the promised 20 hours of electricity, which was the basis for the hike in tariff.
Already, some of the DisCos have issued public notices blaming the collapse of the national grid for the blackout. The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) urged customers in five states of the Southeast that the grid collapse was the reason for the current power outage.
From 2,583 megawatts as of 2:00 a.m., the grid went down to a meagre 64MW as of 3:00 a.m. before coming up to 518MW by 8:00 a.m. By 2:00 p.m. the grid had been restored to 2,188.77MW. As of 4:00 p.m., the grid had been restored to 2,951MW with 16 of the nation’s 26 power plants on the grid.
The TCN, while confirming the restoration of the national grid, said the collapse was following a fire incident at the Afam Power Generating Station, in River State. The spokesperson for the commission, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
According to Mbah, the collapse was caused by a fire that erupted at the Afam V 300kV bus bar coupler, leading to the tripping of units at Afam III and Afam VI.
He further noted that the fire incident destabilised the grid, causing partial collapse.
According to data from TCN, the four generation companies (GenCos) recorded 0MW generation from around 2:00 a.m. yesterday. Furthermore, load allocation to DisCos at the time of filing this report was zero in seven out of the 11 electricity distribution firms, with Ikeja, Benin, Abuja and Ibadan DisCos the exceptions.
The electricity grid, on February 4, collapsed for the first time in 2024. Also, the country suffered another nationwide blackout following the collapse of the national grid on March 28.
Checks on power supply data supplied by the Independent System Operator showed that the top three generators were Egbin Power Plant at 684MW, Azura IPP 390MW and Jebba Hydro 266MW. On the distribution side, Abuja DisCo was allocated 378MW, Ikeja Electric 373MW and Eko DisCo 317MW, significantly lower than the load needed to maintain the supply for the new tariff.
Nosa Osaikhuiwu, a U.S.-based service delivery manager with expertise in process improvements, change management and elimination of waste, has said solving the power crisis in Nigeria requires breaking up the monopoly enjoyed by the various iterations of the NEPA/PHCN organizations, that is the generating, distributing and transmission companies to ensure improved service delivery. According to him, the breakup should ensure the presence of multiple players within operating regions as this will introduce competition to the market place and incentivize investments to boost service delivery.
“In all seriousness how can we privatize NEPA/PHCN and create exactly succeeding entities that looks, act, operate and are configured like NEPA/PHCN? If we are serious about improving electricity access, then the power architecture must be reconfigured to allow for true competition in the market place, which exactly is what will drive service delivery and competitive pricing.
“The recent changes to our existing laws that allow each state to invest, develop and transmit their own electricity now will in the long run help to improve power service delivery in Nigeria if they are in direct competition with existing players in the industry.
“The long-term solutions at improving overall electricity service delivery and transforming the industry includes the following: Enabling through legislation an end to the monopoly enjoyed by the various power entities especially the GenCo’s and Disco’s by providing for multiple providers in each operating zone; Passing felony legislation and the mandatory 20 years jail term for tampering with electricity infrastructures; Imposing stiff penalties including serious jail time, immediate firing and loss of pension’s on employees of power utilities who collude with customers to bypass meters and temper with electricity infrastructures and mandating immediate deployment of prepaid meters across the nation while prohibiting estimated billings.
“Others are approving multiple prepaid meter vendors, enabling competition by giving consumers choice of electricity provider in their respective regions, completely disposing government ownership stakes and focusing on regulating the industry to ensure improved market space and service delivery; and strengthening existing legislation that streamline the steps for revocation of licenses due to non performance across the sector.”
MEANWHILE, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has said it is ‘still consulting’ with stakeholders on whether to embark on a strike over the recently approved electricity tariff hike.
The acting general secretary of NUEE, Dominic Igwebike, had earlier threatened that its members would begin a nationwide strike. However, Igwebike while speaking with Channels Television, said the decision to embark on a nationwide protest was yet to be firmed up.
“The decision to embark on strike was taken because our members will be attacked if they attempt to go out to cut the light. Those customers they put on Band A don’t have light, so they are saying they won’t pay. Our lives will be at risk because most of those in the category are still on estimated bills. But we are still consulting on the next step to take,” he said.
In an earlier statement, NUEE wrote to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, stating that its members would take decisive action if nothing was done about the withdrawal of the tariff.
On April 3, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) raised the electricity tariff for Band A customers. According to NUEE, it is not feasible to have 20 hours of electricity supply, hence, the government should reverse the tariff increase. It added that the increased tariff would push the price of goods upwards and affect the poor.
“We just want the citizens to know that this thing is not possible, it is not feasible, you cannot give what you don’t have. When we don’t have the energy to give to the people, and you ask our people to go out and collect such money, you know it is dangerous. We often don’t disclose what to do to the public because our sector is critical to the nation,” he stated.
However, the Minister, who spoke through his media aide, Bolaji Tunji, said the government was doing everything to improve supply in Nigeria, and everybody would be happy at the end of the day.
“We want to appeal to the labour union to understand what led to this. This is not about strike. It is about understanding so that we can all work together. It is not anybody’s joy that there are blackouts all the time. These steps are being taken to solve the problems in the power sector. I beg the labour union to understand that this will galvanise the economy and create jobs. I want to appeal to the union to bear with us. It is for the good of the nation,” he stated.
THERE are chances that the new electricity tariff hike may push organised labour’s minimum wage demand to N665,000. This is N50,000 above the wage figure earlier submitted to the office of the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) through the national minimum wage tripartite committee secretariat.
A document sighted by The Guardian showed that the joint demand of N615,000 agreed on by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) was forwarded to the secretariat of the NSIWC on March 28, 2024.
However, The Guardian gathered that the proposed demand may no longer be feasible as the new electricity tariff hike by the Federal Government may push labour to increase its demand. The document showed that labour’s demands, based on realities on certain baskets, may likely change due to the hike in the new electricity tariff.
When The Guardian reached out to a top official in the labour centre, who craved anonymity, the official confirmed that their demand may not work again.
The source said: “The demand may not work again. The reality is very clear. Our demand is based on realities in a certain basket and there are elements in that basket, and the moment our elements in that basket change our demand will change.
“Federal government increased electricity tariff by over 300 per cent. So that portion of the basket will have to increase by the same margin so that salaries can also take care of that. On that portion, our demand will be increased by N50,000.”
According to him, they are fresh demands and there may be an addendum. “So, some of the variables have been affected and therefore the need for an additional demand of the new variables as caused by government’s policies,” he said.
He added that with the removal of the electricity tariff subsidy, labour is going to have another round of serious conversations with the government.
The Guardian gathered that the 37-man Tripartite Committee (government, employers and labour) for the implementation of a New National Minimum Wage negotiating for the new minimum wage last met on March 28 and 29 for the third time.
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
0 Comments
We will review and take appropriate action.