The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced that a nationwide power outage has occurred due to the deliberate shutdown of the national grid by a striking labour union. The incident took place around 2:19 am on Monday, June 3, 2024, as confirmed by TCN’s Public Affairs Manager, Ndidi Mbah, in a statement issued in Abuja.
The statement detailed the events leading up to the grid shutdown: “At about 1:15 am this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN reported that all operators were driven away from the control room. Staff who resisted were beaten and some were wounded. The Benin Area Control Center was brought to zero without any form of control or supervision.”
In addition to the Benin facility, the Labour Union also shut down other key transmission substations including Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba, and Osogbo. Several transmission lines were opened as a result of the union’s activities.
The power generation sector was similarly affected. Generating units at various stations were forced to shut down, including one unit at the Jebba Generating Station, which led to the subsequent shutdown of three other units due to very high frequency and system instability. This chain reaction culminated in the national grid’s shutdown at 2:19 am.
TCN began recovery efforts around 3:23 am, using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to supply electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation. However, ongoing obstructions by the Labour Union have hampered grid recovery efforts.
The TCN assured the public that it is making continuous efforts to recover and stabilize the grid to restore normal electricity transmission to distribution load centers across the country.
