The collapse of the national grid reported earlier on Thursday which threw the whole country into darkness followed a fire outbreak on the Kanji/Jebba 330kV transmission line 2, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said. 

The transmission company, which gave the reason for the grid collapse in a statement in Abuja, confirmed efforts to recover the system nationwide was in progress. 

The TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, who signed the statement said the restoration efforts, which have  reached advanced stages, said normal electricity supply has now been restored in sections of the country, including the West, North Central, South, East, and a large portion of the Northern parts.

Mbah said said systems collapse, which occurred at about 12.35 a.m., on Thursday, causing power outage nationwide, “after over 421 days of consistent grid stability.” 

She said in the course of the grid restoration, the process suffered initial setback, which was promptly resolved to avert another collapse. 

“The last time total system collapse was recorded was on 20th July 2022. Since then, to the 13th of September, 2023, (about 421 days). Prior to this, the system had been stable in spite of the challenges posed by zero spinning reserve and lack of System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) essential to a strong and stable grid, among others,” Mbah said.

She attributed the 400 days grid stability achiever by TCN to its development and deployment of in-house stop gap measures and tools used in managing the national grid. 

Despite the latest incident, Mbah said TCN was determined to continue to do its best to ensure grid stability to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply.

Meanwhile, she said management has commenced investigations into the circumstances that resulted in the fire incident on Kanji/Jebba 330kV line 2, which caused the system collapse, to strengthen the grid and forestall future occurrence.