The President, the Nigerian Consumer Protection Network, Mr. Kunle Olubiyo, has urged the Federal Government and stakeholders to increase investment in the power sector to boost the national grid.
Olubiyo, who spoke against the backdrop of the frequent grid collapse being experienced in the country, said investment in the power sector, would
reduce the frequent collapse being experienced by the grid.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had on February 4 said the grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 11:21 a. m, saying that before the incident; total generation on the grid was 3,901.25 Mega Watts (MW) at 8 a.m., a little over three hours before the time of partial collapse.
However, Olubiyo, who spoke in an interview in Abuja over the weekend, said the electricity grid value chain would do better with more investment in acquisition of effective and functional Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA).
He said there was the need to also invest in black start equipment, spinning reserves, mechanised vegetation control, and management of invasive vegetation encroachment on the grid network.
“Investment in system protective devices as the name implies will serve as safety valves and enhance health safety and environment. There is also the need to remove illegal structures built-up under the transmission network towers and all manners of illegal structures on the grid network Right of Way (ROW), ‘’he said.
Olubiyo said the removal of illegal structures on the ROW would further enhance the grid system stability and reliability and ensure the safe delivery of electricity to Nigerians.
According to him, the issues of system collapses are multifaceted and these include, but are not limited to the following “Obsolescence of critical grid equipment, national power grid infrastructure, vegetation encroachment, and poor funding of management of vegetation encroachment on the grid network”, he said.
He said it was also expedient to put an end to low gas pressure by making payments for gas upfront, saying: “Gas producers would not give you gas when you refused to settle your debts obligations resulting from non-payments arrears of the previous supply”.
He said power generated cannot be stored so it is expected that the generated electricity available on the grid from generation, transmission dispatch, distribution load evacuation must at all-time be at equilibrium or be at par.
Olubiyo said load centers managers are expected to be disciplined and pick loads within the thresholds of load allocated to them.
“If there is indiscipline and it becomes prevalent, it can cumulatively result in system misalignments and system distortion. This may result in system disturbances or eventually give rise to partial system collapses, ”he said
