Politically speaking, system collapse is a phenomenon that is expected in any grid system because machines can malfunction and transmission lines trip due to technical reasons like faults, infractions and overload. However, protective measures such as installing relays, carrying out preventive maintenance are put in place to mitigate such happenings.

After relishing a long time without such occurrence, it is sad that the national grid experienced a total system collapse at about 0035Hrs of 14/09/2023 with the generation plummeting to 36.70MW at 0100Hrs.

Prior to this incident, the date of last total system collapse was 20/07/2022 and the number of days since last total system collapse was 421 while the date of last partial system collapse was 26/09/2022 and the number of days since last partial system collapse was 352. While a total system collapse refers to a complete blackout across the whole network, a partial system collapse means that such interruption only affects a part of the grid with a large portion still on power supply.

Although this unfortunate incident was exceptional as it was attributed to a force majeure at Kainji power station due to equipment failure, there is the need for necessary steps to be taken to prevent system collapses due to technical reasons. This is because the national grid is not yet as robust as it should be and requires additional investment to make it able to withstand the rigors of a complex grid system.

In order to minimize the incidences of system shutdown, the government should be made aware of the need to automate the system and install basic tools of Energy Management System (EMS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) for better coordination, control and monitoring of the grid.

Since it is not practicable to operate a grid system without reliable reserve, the procurement of spinning reserve is necessary to complement other reserves like free governor control, under frequency relays and manual load management schemes.

In addition to the above, line trace and maintenance should become more routine in order to clear any encumbrances that could foul the transmission lines.

Also, there is the need to carryout proper relay coordination by reviewing protective relay settings on generators, transformers and lines so as to eliminate arbitrariness in their operations as well as increase the available generation capacity from the current low value of 12,500MW, which is grossly inadequate for a 200 million population.

Last but not the least, the government should take deliberate steps towards modernizing the national grid system and be intentional about training and re-training the workforce for better effective and efficient service delivery.

Although not exhaustive, these measures, if implemented, will definitely fortify the national grid and make it less susceptible to frequent system collapses.