The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has confirmed that electricity generation on the national grid has dropped to 3,200 megawatts (MW) following disruptions caused by the ongoing industrial action of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
NISO said the strike action triggered widespread gas shortages across power plants, cutting down available generation from over 4,300MW.
In a statement on Tuesday, the agency explained that it had rolled out contingency measures to prevent the grid from collapsing.
These included ramping up power generation from major hydro stations, which contributed over 400MW to cushion the shortfall from gas-fired plants.
“There are now real-time load adjustments to match available generation with system demand, while preventing a system frequency collapse,” the statement read.
The agency added that it had deployed reactive power compensation and reserve monitoring to safeguard system integrity.
According to NISO, the situation has forced the adoption of selective load shedding in some areas as a last resort to avert a nationwide blackout.
“These timely actions enabled the NISO National Control Centre to minimise the impact of the labour-induced gas shortages, sustain operational security, and maintain supply to critical loads, thereby averting a nationwide blackout,” the agency explained.
The operator assured Nigerians of its commitment to maintaining stability and security of the grid despite the challenges.
It stressed that the agency would continue to apply proactive grid management and best-in-class practices to guarantee a reliable electricity supply to homes and critical sectors.
Naijaonpoint reports that the management of Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN failed to reach an agreement over their dispute, which was caused by the alleged mass sack of union members.
The meeting called by the federal government of Nigeria to broker peace ended in a deadlock on Monday night.
The meeting, which commenced at about 3:30 p.m. at the Minister of Labour and Employment’s Conference Hall in Abuja, broke up a few minutes after midnight without any agreement.
According to Vanguard, talks are expected to reconvene at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 30.
The Federal Government had summoned both sides to the negotiating table following reports of widespread discontent.
The rift stems from allegations by PENGASSAN that Dangote Refinery had embarked on the mass transfer and sack of union members.
Also, the company allegedly replaced some Nigerians with foreign nationals, a claim the company has consistently denied.
At the meeting, PENGASSAN was led by its President, Festus Osifo, alongside the General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Nuhu Toro.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammad Dingyadi, led the government delegation, while senior management officials represented Dangote Refinery.
The session, originally scheduled for 2p.m., began around 3:50 p.m. due to the late arrival of key stakeholders, before moving into a closed-door discussion that lasted several hours.
In his opening remarks, Dingyadi underscored the gravity of the situation.
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