The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced the complete shutdown of Nigeria’s power grid by labor unions as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) commence their strike.
The NLC and TUC began a nationwide industrial action on Monday in protest against the Federal Government’s N60,000 minimum wage proposal.
In a statement issued on Monday morning by TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah, the transmission firm disclosed that the shutdown was a deliberate action by the workers. The statement was titled, “Grid Shutdown: Union Deliberately Shuts Down the National Grid.”
It read in part, “The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby informs the general public that the labor union has shut down the national grid, resulting in a blackout nationwide. The national grid shutdown occurred at about 2:19 a.m. this morning, June 3, 2024.
“At about 1:15 a.m., 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 in the process of forcing them out. Without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Centre was brought to zero.
“Other transmission substations shut down by the labor union include Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba, and Osogbo. Some transmission lines were also opened due to the ongoing activities of the labor union.”
On the power generation side, TCN reported that units from various generating stations were forced to shut down. “The Jebba Generating Station was forced to shut down one of its units, while three others subsequently shut down due to very high frequency. The sudden forced load cuts led to high frequency and system instability, which eventually shut down the national grid at 2:19 a.m.
“At about 3:23 a.m., TCN commenced grid recovery, using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to feed the transmission lines supplying bulk electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation. However, the labor union continues to obstruct grid recovery nationwide.
“We will continue to make efforts to recover and stabilize the grid to restore normal bulk transmission of electricity to distribution load centers nationwide,” the statement added.
