The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has debunked reports claiming a national grid collapse, clarifying that the incident involved a tripping of transmission lines and affected only parts of the country.
In a statement titled “Benin-Omotosho Line Tripping, Not System Collapse”, TCN explained that the disruption, which occurred at 1:41 p.m. on Friday, was misrepresented by some media outlets as a nationwide grid collapse.
“TCN hereby states that the nation’s grid did not experience any collapse today, contrary to the widely-published misinformation in the media,” the statement read.
The company explained that the incident began when the Oshogbo-Ihovbor line tripped, followed by the tripping of the Benin-Omotosho line, which caused power supply disruptions in the Lagos axis.
“At about 13:41 hours (1:41 p.m.), the Oshogbo-Ihovbor line tripped, followed by the tripping of the Benin-Omotosho line. This consequently affected bulk supply to only the Lagos axis alone,” TCN noted.
Providing additional details, the company stated that grid generation at the time of the tripping was 4,335.63MW. After the incident, total generation dropped to 2,573.23MW, highlighting that the grid itself remained operational.
“The transmission line tripping affected Egbin, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Geregu, and Paras. But these have all been restored except for the Benin-Omotosho 330KV line whose restoration is ongoing,” TCN added.
The company emphasized the importance of accurate reporting to avoid public panic and misperceptions about the state of the nation’s power infrastructure.
“As TCN continues to work hard to put in place a robust transmission grid in spite of prevailing challenges, it is imperative that we understand the negative impact of deliberately misinforming the public and the value of disseminating true and verifiable facts,” the statement concluded.
