The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced that the national grid has been deliberately shut down by the Labour Union, resulting in a nationwide blackout. The incident occurred at approximately 2:19 AM this morning.
According to a statement released by TCN, the shutdown began around 1:15 AM when the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit reported that union members forcibly removed operators from the control room. Staff members who resisted were reportedly beaten, with some sustaining injuries. This action left the Benin Area Control Center without any supervision, bringing operations to a halt.
In addition to the Benin substation, several other key transmission substations were also shut down by the Labour Union. These include Ganmo, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba, and Osogbo Transmission Substations. Some transmission lines were also opened due to the union’s activities, further exacerbating the situation.
On the power generation side, several units were forced to shut down. Notably, the Jebba Generating Station had to shut down one of its units, with three additional units shutting down due to high frequency issues caused by the sudden load cuts. This instability led to the complete shutdown of the national grid at 2:19 AM.
Efforts to recover the grid commenced around 3:23 AM, with TCN using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to restore transmission lines feeding bulk electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation. However, the Labour Union continues to obstruct these recovery efforts nationwide.
TCN assures the public that it is making every effort to stabilize the grid and restore normal bulk transmission of electricity to distribution load centers across the country.
Ndidi Mbah GM, Public Affairs June 3, 2024
Stay tuned for further updates on the situation as TCN works to resolve the blackout and restore power nationwide.
