The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has dismissed claims by Ikeja Electric that instability on the national grid is responsible for the recent electricity outage affecting its Band A customers.
TCN, in a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Ndidi Mba, described Ikeja Electric’s attribution as inaccurate and misleading.
The company explained that, under Section 67 of the Electricity Act 2023, determining the root causes of disturbances, shortfalls and interruptions on the national grid falls within the exclusive responsibility of the Nigerian Independent System Operator, NISO.
According to TCN, NISO has not attributed the outages reported by Ikeja Electric on November 3 and 4 to any failure of the transmission network.
Instead, NISO has identified gas supply constraints to thermal power stations and reduced output from hydroelectric plants, resulting from lower reservoir inflows, as the major factors behind the current decline in electricity generation.
TCN explained that reduced generation has affected the amount of electricity allocated to distribution companies, leading to fewer hours of supply and increased load shedding across distribution networks.
The transmission company maintained that it can only transmit electricity generated and made available to it, insisting that the shortfall experienced by Ikeja Electric customers is not the result of a transmission network failure.
Providing further details, TCN said records from November 1 and 2 showed that 68 per cent of recorded interruptions across feeders supplying Ikeja Electric resulted from frequency-control load shedding caused by inadequate generation.
Another 26 per cent were attributed to Ikeja Electric’s failure to comply with load allocations or faults and maintenance activities on its own distribution network.
The remaining six per cent resulted from planned TCN maintenance, switching operations and line limitations. TCN stressed that none of the recorded interruptions was caused by equipment failure or a trip on its transmission network.
The company also challenged Ikeja Electric’s explanation of outages affecting 46 of its 33-kilovolt feeders.
According to TCN, 29 interruptions resulted from low generation, while 14 were associated with Ikeja Electric’s network, including non-compliance with load allocation and faults.
The remaining three interruptions were linked to scheduled maintenance on the Ogba-Alimosho transmission line on November 1.
TCN further cited a cable fault on Ikeja Electric’s network that disrupted the Rack Centre feeder on November 2, noting that the distribution company’s technical team carried out the repairs.
The transmission company warned that attributing electricity supply shortfalls caused by generation constraints to transmission failures could mislead consumers, undermine public confidence and distract from the real challenges confronting Nigeria’s electricity sector.
It urged distribution companies to communicate verified information obtained from NISO rather than make unfounded claims about the causes of power supply interruptions.
While sympathising with affected electricity consumers, TCN reaffirmed its commitment to transmitting all available electricity safely and efficiently and working with generation companies, NISO and distribution companies to improve power supply across the country.
