Stakeholders lament as Labour cut off national grid

The national grid shut down by protesting Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday, has raised widespread concern among Nigerians, as they bemoaned the severe adverse impact, particularly on economic activities.

Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) revealed that the national grid was shut down about 2.19 a.m., yesterday morning, noting that about 1:15 a.m. this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator, under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN, reported that all operators were driven away from the control room and workers that resisted were beaten, while some were wounded in the course of forcing them out of the control room. Without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Centre was brought down to zero.

According to the TCN, other transmission substations that were shut down by labour unions include the Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba and Osogbo Transmission Substations.

TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, said power generating units from different generating stations were forced to shut down some units of their generating plants.
He said the sudden cuts led to high frequency and system instability, which eventually shut down the national grid at 2:19 a.m.

She, however, said that about 3.23 a.m., TCN commenced grid recovery, using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to feed the transmission lines supplying bulk electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation but the labour union was still obstructing grid recovery nationwide.

“We will continue to make effort to recover and stabilise the grid to enable the restoration of normal bulk transmission of electricity to distribution load centres nationwide,” she said.

The shutdown, which resulted from ongoing disputes between labour unions and government, has left many parts of the country in darkness, disrupting daily life and business operations.

Industry stakeholders have expressed their dismay over the shutdown, lamenting the detrimental effects on the economy and public welfare, highlighting the critical role of a stable power supply in driving economic growth and development.

They noted that the grid shutdown had caused unprecedented disruptions, impacting adversely not just on businesses but also on essential services such as healthcare.

Executive Director, PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, said deliberate shutdown of  the grid should be treated as a treasonable offence, noting that Labour leadership should devise other means and strategies of engaging government, instead of shutting down the national grid.