Nationwide blackout as labour shuts down national grid

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has reported a nationwide blackout as a result of the shutdown of the national grid by the labour union. This action took place at approximately 2:19 am on June 3, 2024.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) commenced their indefinite nationwide strike today in protest of the federal government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage from N60,000.

According to a statement released on Monday by Ndidi Mbah, the general manager of TCN, workers at the Benin Transmission were forcefully removed from the control room and assaulted by the protesters.

The statement detailed: “At about 1:15 am this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator reported that all operators were expelled from the control room. Staff who resisted were assaulted, and some sustained injuries during the process. Consequently, the Benin Area Control Center lost all supervision and control, resulting in complete shutdown.”

The shutdown extended to other transmission substations including Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba, and Osogbo Transmission Substations. Additionally, some transmission lines were opened due to the actions of the labour union.

On the power generation side, several generating units were forced to shut down at different generating stations. For instance, the Jebba Generating Station had to shut down one of its generating units, followed by three others due to high frequency. This sudden load shedding resulted in high frequency and system instability, ultimately leading to the shutdown of the national grid at 2:19 am.

Efforts to restore the grid began at approximately 3:23 am, utilizing the Shiroro substation to attempt to supply bulk electricity to the Katampe transmission substation. However, the labour union’s obstruction is hindering grid recovery nationwide.

The TCN reiterated its commitment to restoring and stabilizing the grid to enable the resumption of normal bulk transmission of electricity to distribution load centers nationwide.