Transmission Company of Nigeria rejects Ikeja Electric's claim that grid instability caused recent Band A outages

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has publicly disputed Ikeja Electric’s (IE) attribution of recent Band A feeder outages to grid instability. In a statement released on 5 November, TCN said the outages recorded on 3 and 4 November were the result of reduced electricity generation and allocation issues, not failures in the national transmission network.

In a statement released on 5 November, the Irish Electricity Board connected the service disruptions to grid instability and named TCN as the entity at fault. TCN countered that the distribution company lacks the authority to determine the root causes of disturbances on the grid, a function reserved for the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) under Section 67 of the Electricity Act 2023.

Background

TCN’s response was issued by Ms. Ndidi Mba, General Manager of the Corporate Communication Unit, in Lagos. She cited a NISO explanation from 5 November that traced the power deficit to two primary causes: limited gas deliveries to thermal plants and diminished hydroelectric production resulting from decreased reservoir water levels. According to TCN, these generation constraints lowered the volume of electricity available for allocation to distribution companies, leading to fewer supply hours and increased load‑shedding.

The transmission company provided detailed figures to support its position. Of the interruptions recorded on the feeders supplying IE, 68 % were classified as frequency‑control load shedding arising from low generation. A further 26% of the issue was connected to the IE’s purported failure to adhere to load assignments from the NISO National Control Centre, alongside defects and upkeep activities on the IE’s infrastructure. The remaining 6 % were attributed to planned TCN maintenance, switching operations or line limitations. TCN emphasised that it can only transmit electricity that has been generated; it cannot create power that does not exist.

Why it matters

The dispute highlights the broader challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector, where generation shortfalls directly affect distribution companies and end‑users. IE’s customers experienced reduced supply hours and heightened load‑shedding as a result of the lower generation output. TCN’s figures suggest that the majority of the interruptions were systemic, stemming from national generation constraints rather than isolated transmission faults.

The clarification also underscores the regulatory roles defined by the Electricity Act 2023. By asserting that only NISO can determine the causes of grid disturbances, TCN reinforces the separation of responsibilities between transmission operators, distribution companies, and the system operator. This delineation is critical for accountability and for guiding future investments in generation capacity and infrastructure.

What happens next

TCN indicated that its statement reflects NISO’s official explanation and that no further attribution to the transmission network will be made. The company did not announce any immediate remedial actions but reiterated that it will continue to transmit any electricity generated and allocated by NISO. Both TCN and IE are expected to monitor subsequent load‑shedding schedules and generation reports as the situation evolves.