Explainer: Why Nigeria’s National Grid Collapses Frequently
The frequent collapses of Nigeria’s national electricity grid have become a recurring nightmare for residents and businesses.
In one week, the country experienced a series of power outages, leaving millions without electricity for extended periods.
Power grid
A power grid is a network of electrical transmission lines that connects several generating stations to loads spread across a large area.
Generator stations, transmission lines and towers, and individual consumer distribution lines comprise the power grid.
It is intended to operate within certain limits, known as stability limits, in accordance with voltage, current, and frequency.
As a result, whenever these limits are outside of the stability range, the grid’s operation becomes unstable and may collapse.
Reason for national grid collapse by Habu Sadiek, power sector analyst
National grid is the interconnections of high transmission wires/cables across the country.
Grid frequency measures the demand and supply of electricity despatch to consumers from the Gencos.
Frequency meters are measured in hertz (Hz).
Based on the grid code, our normal frequency level is supposed to be 50Hz.
Example:
If the current power generation is 4000MWh and people are using all the 4000MWh, then supply is equal to demand, and frequency should be 50Hz.
This is a perfect condition that is highly unlikely.
If we are generating 4000MWh and People are using 3700Mwh, then obviously supply is higher than demand, and for that reason, the frequency will show you 51Hz.
If we are generating 4000MWh and people are trying to use 4200MWh, demand is higher than supply, and for that reason, the frequency will show 49Hz.
I know you will ask me how you can be generating 4000MWh and be trying to use 4200MWh.
Take, for instance, your using I-pass-my-neighbour generator, and you’re trying to connect 2HP A.C. with microwave on the generator.
The generator will just automatically shut down.
That’s how it happens, too, on the national grid.
Nigerian national grid is set to operate on a designated frequency level
Upper limit = 51.25Hz
Lower limit = 48.75Hz
The job of an S.O. is to make sure that the frequency movement is in between these 2 levels
Any significant deviation from these 2 levels, i.e., if it exceeds the threshold above or below it, such might trigger a national grid collapse.
A grid collapse is not like a collapse that something bad happens, no. The 26 grid connected generators will automatically shut down because of safety and security reasons.
In your houses, if you have a serious electrical fault, the circuit breaker will trip off to shut down the entire supply and protect everyone from potential injury or damages.
The electricity demand is not static. For example, let’s say you have 10 ACs in your house and other appliances.
In full capacity, your house is consuming 500Kwh, and average capacity can be 300Kwh or less.
Lets say in this hot weather, they only allocate 250Kwh to your house, and you’re trying to use it in full capacity, if you switch on everything the demand will exceed the available supply you have and for that reason the light will automatically go off
These are all examples of how a demand is trying to exceed supply and how the system will protect itself.
On the flip side, when supply exceeds demand, the system will equally go off for safety reasons.
In Nigeria, supply does not always exceed demand unless there is an adverse event that occurs. I will explain.
In 2022, when TCN unions (NUEE) decide to go on strike, they just off the light abruptly without notice nor following the normal process, this trigger imbalance
Between the demand and supply.
They off the electricity around Abuja axis and co areas without the S.O. necessarily transferring the load somewhere. This resulted in higher supply, less demand because the generators are working, but nobody to pick load. It means
For E.g, there is 4000MWh being generated from GenCos. You went ahead to shut down almost 500MWh without channelling that MWh somewhere else. It becomes a redundant, and the system does not accept redundancy. For that reason, the entire power plants go off to protect itself
The frequency will be showing something more than 52Hz in some cases because supply is higher than demand.
This is why you will see that they will bring light now and take it off again.
The demand is not static, and as its changing, the S.O. will also be Making sure that the supply is reasonable enough to maintain frequency reading within the allowable limit.
TCN will ask a disco to take 200Mw, and within a short time, they will reduce that 200Mw to 190Mw depending on how generation and demand are behaving
This is all done to protect the grid and maintain balance.
If TCN asks Disco to reduce the MW, that’s when you see discos taking light off, or maybe if there is a major repair.
Also, if there is a repair and a disco can not offtake power, then either the disco rechannel it Somewhere or the TCN will do it themselves.
What causes grid collapse is not a deflection of small MW in the generation pool. It has to be a major disruption that is SIGNIFICANT enough to create imbalance within short time, making it impossible for the S.O. to react immediately.
You have a generation pool of 4000MW, and a sudden problem occurs at the transmission line, removing almost 500MW. This is significant enough to cause grid collapse.
Even that 500MW, it has to be so fast that the S.O. cannot react at the immediate point.
Disruption like 10MW, 20MW is not significant enough, and it’s usually handled by the S.O. or even the disco
Other ways to maintain the grid without collapsing is to have the full and complete use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA).
This will make it easy for the S.O. to react faster and save the grid from collapsing.
Spinning reserve is also another option
But we do not have enough generation talkless of having a spinning reserve.
Reserve means a situation where demand is increasing, and you’re matching up the demand by increasing supply immediately.
After grid collapses, the S.O. will immediately order the restoration or start off of power plants again. They usually call it black start.
They initiate the power plant and begin to give electricity to strategic discos gradually
It’s a normal process, just like when your circuit breaker trips off, then you fix it and on your light again.
This is why the grid will collapse, and they will restart it before the news even go out. By the time its in the news, some people will be saying, but we have light.
Need to also mention that some power plants are not connected to the grid, and there is partial collapse and system-wide collapse. These can also be the reason why someone from a far away remote location can be claiming to have light when the grid collapses.
