Sule Abdulaziz, the CEO of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has clarified that TCN is not solely responsible for all national grid collapses in the country.
In an interview with Channels TV’s ‘Sunday Politics,’ Abdulaziz explained that system collapses could arise from various issues, including generation, transmission, and distribution problems. He emphasized, “TCN is in charge of the grid but if there’s a system collapse, it doesn’t mean that all the problems are from TCN.”
He elaborated that the collapse could be due to several factors, adding, “It can be from generation, it can be from transmission, and it can be from distribution. And some of these also can come as a disaster. So if there is any system collapse, we have to make studies, find out what is the cause of this grid collapse.” He further added, “But you cannot say it is the fault of TCN, just like that. But TCN are the ones that are managing the grid.”
Addressing recent reports about grid collapses, Abdulaziz refuted claims that the national grid collapsed three times in one week. He clarified that the disturbances occurred twice, saying, “We have grid disturbances two times. The first one was on Monday and the second one was yesterday on Saturday.” He further corrected misinformation, adding, “There are some news that says that the grid collapsed again on Tuesday. That one is not correct. On Monday, we were trying to restore the grid, then we had some setback and that is when we had to start all over again, but it wasn’t a collapse.”
Abdulaziz acknowledged that the commission must improve efforts to prevent frequent collapses but noted improvements since 2015. “But if you look at the records, the grid collapse has reduced from 2015. If you have all these records, you will see that from the year 2022, we spent over one and a half years, and there was no grid collapse. So we are doing our best,” he said, adding, “We know we have to do more, but at least we are getting to know the issues and we are resolving them one by one.”
Abdulaziz also highlighted the need for substantial investments in the transmission system, which has suffered from years of neglect. “So, most of the equipment we are using, some of them are even 50 years old, some 40 years old,” he said, noting that such aging equipment cannot function perfectly.
He called for continuous investment, stating, “Continuously, we build new substations, we buy spare parts and change some of the outdated. You see, it cannot be done once. It is bit by bit. And if you look at the TCN, most of the funds we are using is from internally generated revenue (IGR).”
He also mentioned that while some federal projects are funded through the budget, much of the maintenance is financed through IGR. Abdulaziz said, “So what we do every year is that we schedule some maintenance, changing some of the old equipment.” However, he acknowledged that not all grid infrastructure can be upgraded simultaneously.
Earlier, on October 17, Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power, had noted that frequent grid failures are inevitable due to the aging infrastructure.
