Kehinde Fajobi
The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, attributed the recent spate of grid collapses to vandalism, theft of power equipment, and a history of inadequate maintenance.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving a committee report on grid stability, Adelabu noted that most incidents this year stemmed from vandalism and equipment theft.
“The Federal Government is taking the issue seriously, requiring urgent attention,” he stated, assuring that the ministry would review the report, make amendments, and submit it to President Bola Tinubu for further action.
The six-member committee, led by Mrs Nafisat Ali, Executive Director of the Independent System Operator (ISO), detailed specific causes for the recent collapses.
Ali highlighted that on October 14, lightning arrestors at the Jebba and Oshogbo transmission stations were damaged, and on October 19, a Current Transformer (CT) exploded at Jebba Station, triggering outages.
The committee proposed several measures to prevent future incidents, including revising relaying protocols within a month, strengthening training for Maintenance and System Operator staff, and testing equipment at critical points in the grid.
“We recommended that financially impactful recommendations be included in the 2025 budget or addressed through a supplementary budget,” Ali stated.
She also commended stakeholders for their prompt responses, ensuring that no recent grid collapse lasted longer than 24 hours.