Grid Collapse: N3.2bn Needed Monthly To Maintain Spinning Reserve - TCN

• As GenCos call for concession 

Agatha Chitumu, Abuja

DAILY COURIER - The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has disclosed that a sum of N3.2bn would be needed to maintain the spinning reverse to mitigate the frequent grid collapses in the country.

A spinning reserve is a backup power capacity that is ready to respond to unexpected events in the electricity supply, such as a sudden increase in demand or a generator loss.

According to TCN, the move is to prevent the incessant grid collapses in the country.

This medium reports that this year alone, a total of eight collapses had been recorded, while grid disturbances have also been recorded.

 

While speaking at a public hearing on frequent national grid collapses’ stakeholders’ engagement organized by the Nigerians Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Abuja, TCN’s Executive Director, System Operation, Engr. Nafisat Alli blamed some of the grid collapses on generation failure.

“Recently, I decided to check the ancillary services funds, and I made a rough calculation based on a document I saw, an analysis that says we need something close to N3.2 billion every month if we must maintain the spinning reserve. 

“And somebody once asked me, you don't have that was at that time, you don't have enough generation. Why do you want to do spinning reserve? And I said the choice is yours. Is it quality you want or quantity? So, we need to think about that’’. 

Alli said.

On the revent grid disturbances, she said a loss of 675MW was responsible for the October 14 incident, while the fire breakout on Jebba Substation was responsible for the grid collapse recorded on October 19.

“On October 14 a total load of 675 MW was lost and it caused instability and eventually we lost part of the grid. Grid integrity was already compromised even before the incident. Under frequency operated, yes, 169.8MW but it was quite insignificant compared to the designed 828MW it was meant to take out of the system.  

“At that time also, the free governor control by most of the power plants was not activated so it compounded the problem. So that's the case for 14th, Oshogbo, that's the issue.

“Also on October 19, at 0815 hours, we had a fire outbreak in Jeba on a particular face of a current transformer and the lines outlined there, I mean, tripped. So, what happened in Jeba that day was that every line connected to the Jeba bus cleared everything. 

“Then the implication of that was that Kainji was also out because Jeba is a gateway mostly for the Kainji power plant.

 After the other. So we experienced a frequency 261MW again so it couldn't match the 823MW that we needed to help the grid.

“So, one other thing we noticed is that Jeba TS is vulnerable to high voltage. I mean, on a good day, two number 75MX reactors but one was out or has been out of service due to severe oil leakage.’’ 

Giving a remark earlier, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Dr Joy Ogaji, had lamented that the nation recorded 162 cases of grid collapse from 2013 till date.

Ogaji, who spoke on behalf of the Power Generating Companies (GenCos), lamented that 11 years after power sector privatization the country is still discussing the pre-privatisation issues, and called for the concession of TCN for improved performance.

She said: " The topic for this course, this morning, is not new at all. From the association data taken from 2013 to date, the grid has collapsed 162 times.

“By November we will be 11 years of privatization.

 Why are we still discussing the pre-privatisation issue of the grid not being steady, grid volatile, grid shaking and all the rest?

“People need to progress in their businesses.

 Anytime the grid collapses, a Genco, discos, and the commission is losing money. We are all looking for a solution. I pray that we do not have another hearing again. 

“I believe we need to look at creating solutions to make progress in the privatized market. Should TCN continue to be a government outfit? Should TCN continue it? Should it be concessioned? Should there be another management contractor to manage it more efficiently?

“We need to start thinking about it because TCN or transmission is a crucial network for our power sector to work’’, she said.

Earlier, the Chairman/CEO of NERC, Engr. Sanusi Garba had explained that the public hearing was aimed at addressing the alarming frequency of national grid collapses.