FG Probes Potential Sabotage As Power Minister Sets Up Committee To Review Grid Incidents

Mr Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the Minister of Power said this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

Members of the committee include Mr Nafisat Ali, Executive Director, Independent System Operator (ISO), who leads the committee, Dr. Chidi Ike, Commissioner, NERC, Engr. Ishola General Manager. National Control Centre (NCC)

Others are Mr Emmanuel Nosike, Director, Transmission, Ministry of Power, Mr Ali Sharifai General Manager, Transmission Service Provider (TSP) and Mr. Adedayo Olowoniyi, Chief Technical Adviser to the Minister of Power.

He said the committee members are expected to present a report to the minister on Nov. 1.

”The committee is to also establish the root cause of both incidents, especially a review of potential sabotage on the system.

”The committee will holistically review the national grid stability and identify investments and technical capacities required to make the grid smart and resilient.

According to him, the minister expressed displeasure at the incident, which he said, was capable of rubbishing the giant strides made in the last one year.

Tunji recalled that on Oct. 14, there was a partial collapse due to the tripping of a line at the Jebba Transmission Substation, and recurring fault at the Osogbo Transmission Substation.

He said that efforts to restore the grid further resulted in a setback the following day. The System was however fully restored on Oct. 16.

”There was no grid collapse on Tuesday as was widely speculated as the setback was a continuation of Monday’s restoration efforts on the grid.

”What was described on Oct. 19, as grid collapse, was a deliberate protective shut down of the grid as a result of the explosion of the Jebba transformer. And this was restored within two hours,”he said.

”What we had were more grid disturbances than collapses.

“Preliminary assessment of the Jebba incident suggested that the explosion was as a result of ageing equipment unrelated to the initial collapse, ”he said.

Tunji said that the committee was an addition to the ongoing efforts of the government like the Presidential Power Initiatives (PPI) and the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project (NETAP) to ensure reliable power supply.

He said that a technical team had also been deployed to access the critical nodes on the national grid, to identify potential vulnerabilities and proffer recommendations to prevent future disruptions.

The minister had invited the leadership of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Transmission company of Nigeria (TCN) at the weekend to an emergency meeting over grid disturbance.