Why Nigeria’s National Power Grid Keeps Collapsing – FG Panel Reveals

In a revealing report presented this Wednesday, an investigative panel has outlined multiple causes behind Nigeria’s frequent national power grid collapses, citing poor maintenance culture, outdated equipment, and recurring acts of vandalism.

The committee, chaired by Nafisatu Asabe, presented its findings at the Ministry of Power in Abuja. Addressing the grid collapse incidents from October 14 and 19, Asabe explained that these outages were directly linked to failed lightning arrestors at critical transmission stations in Jebba and Oshogbo. These failures ultimately triggered a series of outages along several high-voltage (330kV) lines, leading to widespread blackouts.

Asabe elaborated, “On the 14th, we experienced shattering of lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo. The Jebba arrestor for the shunt reactor malfunctioned due to high voltage, and without a second reactor, the voltage rose dangerously, reaching about 400KV—well above the threshold.” She warned that prolonged exposure to such high voltage can severely degrade equipment insulation, leading to further failures.

The report also highlighted deeper systemic issues: the substation in Jebba, initially commissioned in 1968, still relies on aging equipment from that era. Asabe noted, “Many components have seen decades of wear and have not been adequately maintained, weakening their reliability over time.”

Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu responded to the findings, acknowledging the gravity of the issue. Adelabu described the repeated grid failures as a major concern but expressed optimism that the government’s ongoing reforms in the power sector would help address these vulnerabilities.