*The Federal Government has pledged to deliver on reforms and investments, including SCADA, that are critical to improving the capacity and reliability of the national electricity grid in the country

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In respect of the reported collapse of the national power grid in the West African country, the Federal Government has confirmed the repeated ill-fated incident, which has affected some states across Nigeria.

ConsumerConnect reports the Nigerian Government in a statement issued Saturday, April 9, 2022, affirmed the collapse of the electricity facility which it stated occurred at 1830hrs Friday, April 8 resulting in blackouts in several parts of the country.

Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, Honourable Minister for Power, said investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the recurring grid failure was ongoing, and disclosed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the operator of the national grid, is already launching the probe.

The Minister noted: “The process of restoring supply is ongoing with some sections of the national grid already energised and supply restored to consumers.”

Engr. Aliyu as well stated that the efforts at restoring the restoring electricity supply in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives on closing infrastructure deficits in critical sectors of the economy.

Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) explain situation

In a related development, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) Saturday, April 9, announced the collapse in an update.

The electricity Distribution Company (DisCo) in a tweet said: “Our partners are assessing the extent of the damage to the National Grid and how soon it will be restored, more information will be provided soon.”

Similarly, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) said the occurrence affected “our franchise areas” (five states).

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and appeal that you bear with us while we await restoration from the TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria),” Abuja DisCo stated.

“Dear Esteemed Customers, we regret to inform you that a system collapse occurred on the National Grid at 6:30pm, Friday, April 8, 2022,” EKEDC said in a tweet. “Our partners are assessing the extent of the damage to the National Grid and how soon it will be restored, more information will be provided soon.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to our customers and we assure you that we are working on a swift resolution.”

AEDC, on its part, sought the understanding of its customers with an assurance that the relevant stakeholders were working to bring the situation under control.

Also in its update to power consumers in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa States, KEDCO has apologised for any inconveniences the outages might have caused.

The DisCo said: “We write to inform our numerous customers in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa States that the current power outage is due to a system collapse on the National Grid.

“Which as a result causes the current power outage on our network. We sincerely apologise for any inconveniences this may cause to our customers,” it tweeted.

Despite the government’s effort to improve the power supply, major cities in the country experienced blackouts at least twice in March.