The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced that it has restored power to areas affected by the arcing on the Benin-Egbin 330kV isolator, which caused line tripping and subsequent power loss in several regions.
TCN refuted reports that claimed a grid collapse occurred on Monday, clarifying that the system experienced line tripping rather than a full grid collapse.
The incident began around 2:47 pm on Monday with a heavy system surge that led to the arcing of the Benin-Egbin 330kV line isolator fingers at the Egbin Transmission Substation switchyard. This caused a tripping at the Egbin Generating Station, cutting power to all outgoing lines from the Egbin Transmission Substations. The load on the Osogbo-Ihovbor 330kV line 1 surged, causing significant arcing at the isolator terminals. To prevent further complications to the national grid, the Osogbo-Ihovbor 330kV line was temporarily disconnected.
At around 2:56 pm, the Benin-Egbin 330kV line 1 Circuit Breaker tripped at the Benin Transmission Substation, resulting in power loss to Lagos, parts of the Southwest, North Central regions, and Abuja.
Meanwhile, other regions, including the Southeast, Northeast, and additional parts of the North Central and Southwest, maintained full power supply.
The tripping issues were promptly addressed, allowing the grid controller to restore full bulk power supply through the transmission lines by approximately 6:10 pm on Monday.
Earlier reports indicated a grid collapse on Monday, which allegedly plunged several cities into darkness. The grid was said to have collapsed around 2:55 pm, leading to a significant drop in power generation.
The tripping was confirmed by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in a statement on its X handle, assuring customers that the system was stabilizing and efforts were underway to restore power to the affected areas.
