‘Why power system collapsed’
Power terminal
MAINSTREAM Energy Solutions Ltd, the concessionaires of Kainji and Jebba Power Plants, yesterday explained the power system collapse, saying that the Jebba Hydro Electric Power Station did not suffer any damage.
But insiders told The Guardian last night that there were more serious reasons than the company had stated.
Mainstream Energy had stressed that “the Power System Collapse which occurred around 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, 2015 occasioning outage in Abuja and other parts of the country was caused by a breakdown at Jebba Hydro Electric Power Station.
According to the concessionaires, the Jebba Plant has five generating units with combined available capacity of 400MW while Kainji has four units with combined available capacity of 305 MW.
“As at the time the system collapse occurred, the generating units were on the national grid. The units separated due to the national grid failure,” the statement explained.
The company also explained that effort has been made by the National Control Centre to black-start the system using the Kainji Power Plant. “Kainji and Jebba power plants remain available to supply power as soon as the National grid is restored.
Since Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited took over Kainji and Jebba plants in November, 2013, the company has not only stabilised operations of the power plants but has also increased generation capacity of the plants despite various frustrations,” it concluded.
The Guardian, however, learnt last night that lack of capacity to sustain grid of thermal power plants was the real issue.
An informed source disclosed that scarcity of gas resulted in a lack of capacity to sustain grid of thermal power plants.
“We are left with only three hydro power plants. Kainji and Jebba could not push power to the South because the grid cannot be brought up. This is the reason for the total collapse,” the source told The Guardian.
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5 Comments
The moral lesson from this report: Never build any system that’s prone to a single point of failure. Never! That’s abulecentrism 101
Lol.
Always have an Alternative.
The collapse as it were is another indicment of Nigerian Executived for either failing or refusing to face the power issues in Nigeria. Starting from the Choef Obasanjo ill advised diesel Abuja IPP to date, the Execuitve has lived in a fools paradise when power generation and supply is the point. The Abuja IPP only generated massive profits for those privileged enough to get the diesel supply contract while Nigerians bore the costs and pollution alongside the unmentioned dirty nature and ineffectiveness of diesel as major source pf electricity generation.
Now that we have seen hoe vulnerable we are, we can only pray and hope that the in-coming APC administration will bite the bullet and dispose of the ieffective and corrupt statitory supervisoes appointed by the government. Amend the laws to alow real investors to come in and set up generation, transmission and distribution facilities to serve Nigerians. Te question of right pricing will become a factor by the way consumers assess the proficiency or otherwise of the utilities given adequate protection to the consumer by allowing legal proceedings for breaches as we just went through. The impunity conferrimg immunity of NPHC ne3e3d not be transferred to the private interests while the same NERC guarantees them exorbitant Tariffs and immunity against the consumer.
we’re waiting for Buhari
errrr those two plants are hydro power generators…..where is this story of gas (thermal) coming from? gosh!!!
We will review and take appropriate action.