There are compelling reasons to believe that the nation’s power supply crisis may last longer given the challenges faced by generation companies (GenCos) and distribution companies (DiscCos) in maintaining antiquated, out-of-date networks, as well as by inadequately maintaining equipment and deteriorating generating machinery that results in less than ideal capacity utilization.
Similar problems with socio-political and technological aspects are plaguing Nigeria’s Transmission Company, or TCN.
According to investigations, the sector is plagued by low generating capacity, inadequate transmission infrastructure investment, vandalism of electricity installations, ineffective policy enforcement, surges in electricity demand, and technical losses that prevent DisCos from off-taking loads from TCN.
It also has to deal with inadequate facilities, persistent pipeline vandalism that supplies stations with gas, systemic corruption leading to the failure to carry out projects that are awarded, low capacity utilization, illegal connections, inadequate power allocation, large metering gaps, improper network planning, high debt levels and low collection efficiency, and the upkeep of current facilities as well as the construction of new ones.
Households, small companies, and even huge corporations that rely on pricey diesel and petrol to run their generators are suffering from the inadequate power supply. A great deal of firms are failing, which is severely hurting the economy.
The National Union of Electricity Employees’ (NUEE) acting general secretary, Dominic Igwebike, discussed the difficulties by saying, “Technological and socio-political factors are the main causes of system collapse.”
‘’Power transformers, grid maintenance and extension, SCADA application and availability, other power transmission technologies, generation capacity, etc. are some of the technological concerns. Additionally, there is a dearth of qualified, seasoned, and dedicated power systems specialists.
Even more worrisome are the socio-political challenges, which include the selection of individuals in charge of the power sector as well as the creation, execution, and assessment of sector policies. Procurement procedures and the power of influential political figures who support proxies, etc., are closely tied to this.
‘’Another issue is the disregard for the electricity infrastructure in their neighborhood by the populace. These take the form of building beneath high-tension electrical lines, vandalism, and bushfires, among other things.
The national power grid, which is a nationwide network of electrical transmission lines that links generating stations to loads, is intended to function within specific stability bounds for voltage (330kV±5%) and frequency (50Hz±0.5%). Any departure from these stability ranges may lead to a reduction in the quality of the power and, in extreme situations, to widespread power outages.
It is the duty of the system operator to guarantee that the frequency stays within a tolerance threshold of ±0.5%. Significant variations in supply and demand on the grid can push grid parameters outside of their stability zones, which can lead to collapse.
‘’This typically happens when demand outpaces supply, dropping the grid frequency beyond of a safe operating range and triggering an automatic shutdown of the most vulnerable facilities. These shutdowns can cause a complete or partial collapse of the system by exacerbating the frequency imbalance. More generations are required, as is regular system operator training.
