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Nationwide Blackout as National Grid Partially Collapses, Akwa Ibom Power Supply Remains Unaffected

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A partial collapse of the national grid has been reported by electricity distribution companies, resulting in a blackout in most parts of the country.

However, the Akwa Ibom Generating Station was “islanded,” allowing it to continue supplying electricity to neighboring cities.

The spokesperson for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this during a chat on Monday evening.

Mbah explained that the Akwa Ibom Generating Station was “islanded” to enable continuous power supply through the Eket, Ekim, Uyo, and Itu 132-kilovolt substations.

“The entire system did not collapse, as the IBOM Generating Station was islanded (i.e., separated to stand alone and continue supplying some areas to avoid a total system failure), allowing it to supply electricity through the Eket, Ekim, Uyo, and Itu 132kV substations,” she said.

Mbah further disclosed that the collapsed national grid was partial as TCN has begun system recovery to restore normalcy in the affected area. 

“Recovery is currently ongoing and has advanced significantly.” She said. 

Mbah’s disclosure about the Akwa Ibom generating station being “islanded” came shortly after Emeka Ezeh, Head of Corporate Communications at the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), confirmed the national grid’s collapse around 6:48 p.m. on Monday. 

“…of a general system collapse that occurred at 18:48 hours today, 14th October 2024.” He stated. 

Speaking about how to restore power, a statement signed by Ezeh revealed that the EEDC is on standby to restore supply from Osogbo. 

“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo,” the statement read.

“Rest assured, we are working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid is stabilised. Thank you for your understanding”, the statement indicated.

The Abuja Disco also reported the grid collapse at 6:58 p.m. 

Dear Valued Customer, Please be informed that the power outage being experienced is due to a system failure from the national grid at 6:58 pm today, affecting the power supply to our franchise areas”, the Abuja Disco declared.

It was reported that the collapsed electricity grid has vehemently thrown the nation into a blackout. Moreover, at the time of this report, power supply is yet to be restored across parts of the country. 

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Economy

President Tinubu Approves Concrete Redesign for Abuja-Kaduna Road Amid Contract Termination

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The Federal Government has announced plans to address the difficulties faced by road users on the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road with the redesign of the dual carriageway.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi via a statement on Wednesday.

The Ministry revealed that the 127 kilometers project has been approved by President Bola Tinubu.

This development comes two days after the Ministry of Works announced the termination of its contract with Julius Berger for the Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway project in FCT, Kaduna, and Kano States.

Investors King understands that the contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) Plc on December 20, 2017.

The project, initially valued at N155.7 billion, with a 36-month completion period was further categorized into three sections.

However, only Section II (Kaduna-Zaria) has been completed and partially handed over.

Section III (Zaria-Kano) is partially finished while Section I remains in a severely deteriorated state.

A statement from the Ministry explained that the decision to terminate the contract with Berger was based on non-compliance with reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work, and refusal to remobilise to site.

The ministry on Wednesday, November 6, confirmed that Section I has been redesigned and re-scoped.

The statement reads, “The President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has approved that the remaining 127 kilometres of the Rehabilitation of Abuja – Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Dual Carriageway, Section I (Abuja – Kaduna) be redesigned using continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) instead of the present asphaltic one.”  

“The contract, divided into three (3) sections, was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) PLC on 20th December 2017 at an initial sum of N155, 748,178,425.50 billion (one hundred and fifty-five billion, seven hundred and forty-eight million, one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five naira, fifty kobo) with a completion period of thirty-six (36) months.” 

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Economy

Tax Expert Warns Tinubu: VAT, PAYE Hikes Will Deepen Hardship for Nigerians

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Due to Nigeria’s economic situation, tax expert Adebisi Oderinde has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to halt plans to increase the VAT and Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax rates.

Oderinde, who is also the CEO of AOC-Adebisi Oderinde & Co, made the statement during the inauguration of the company’s Head Office in the Kara area of Ogun State.

He said the country’s economic conditions are challenging and particularly unfavorable for SMEs and warned that implementing tax reform could destabilize many small businesses as inflation has already eroded purchasing power in Nigeria.

With over 28 years of experience as a tax consultant, Oderinde noted that new tax reforms would likely worsen hardship across the country.

“My advice is to make hay while the sun shines, as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and slow and steady wins the race. The country is hard! As a tax practitioner, I continue to pray for our President, but he must heed the advice of elders, especially when it concerns tax reform,” he said.

“This is not the right time to reform any tax, nor to adjust rates. Nigerians’ purchasing power is very low. While some may think of VAT reform as beneficial, it would have a negative impact, especially on Lagos State. One part of the reform aims to cancel the consumption tax, which would hit Lagos hard, as the state earns more from consumption tax than any other state in the federation,” he added.

Oderinde further advised northern Nigeria not to support the proposed policy, warning it could disproportionately affect the region.

“They also want to increase PAYE, and recent data from the NBS in 2023 shows that the total IGR from the 36 states plus the FCT is about N2.4tn, with PAYE accounting for about 63%. If PAYE is raised, it will impact many states significantly. Instead of focusing on VAT, the northern states should consider that an increase in PAYE would affect them even more than VAT,” he explained.

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Economy

Power Restored Hours After Lastest Grid Collapse

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Electricity - Investors King

Electricity has been restored in some parts of the states that were hitherto affected by the nation’s power grid collapse.

Investors King gathered that some states including Lagos, Osun, Federal Capital Territory among others now have light.

Recall that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had on Tuesday announced the latest National Grid collapse.

Checks by Investors King, however, revealed that the last disruption was the tenth time Nigeria would be experiencing total blackout due to grid collapse in about nine months in 2024 alone.

The situation has been raising concerns from Nigerians and other stakeholders even as others alleged that the collapse has led to inferno in people’s homes among other property destruction.

The General Manager of TCN Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, had assured members of the public that the grid collapse which occurred at 1:52 pm on November 5 would be speedily fixed.

The GM revealed that the grid collapse was caused by line and generator trippings, adding that efforts were on to rectify it.

Mbah had disclosed how the national grid experienced a partial disturbance due to a series of line and generator trippings that caused instability in the grid and, consequently, the partial disturbance of the system.

Each time the disruption through citizens into darkness, businesses are affected as many Nigerians task the Federal Government to tackle the menace.

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