The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has dismissed reports that the national grid collapsed two times within 24 hours, stressing that there was only a trip-off.

It was reported that the power grid collapsed again on Tuesday amid restoration efforts following the initial collapse on Monday evening.

Speaking to The PUNCH, Adelabu said what occurred was a line tripping in certain quarters in the country.

He said: “There was no a grid collapse; there was a trip-off. When you talk of grid collapse, it will involve 100 per cent of our grid infrastructure. But this was a line tripping in certain quarters in the country; even the major centres were not affected, talk of Abuja, Lagos, and Ibadan. And this was even restored within two hours.

“Let me tell you, grid disturbances are global. We are talking about electrical connections. There could be tripping off due to weather, due to the dilapidation of some infrastructure. What matters most is what is your rate of response to fix this. We responded swiftly and within two hours, we brought it back and it’s working now. So, it’s no big deal.”

Meanwhile, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TUC) has stated that it would investigate the cause of the multiple power grid collapses that occurred on Monday and Tuesday.

TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, explained in a statement that although the recovery of the grid commenced immediately, with Azura power station providing the blackstart, grid recovery reached advanced stages at about 10.24 am on Tuesday when it encountered a challenge that caused a slight setback in the recovery process.

“The slight setback notwithstanding, TCN continued with the grid recovery process, which has reached an advanced stage, ensuring bulk power availability to about 90 per cent of its substations nationwide. Supply has been restored to the Abuja axis and other major distribution load centres nationwide,” she disclosed, even as many areas were still in darkness as of 7 pm on Tuesday.

Mbah explained that the partial disturbance did not affect the Ibom Gas generating station, which was islanded from the grid yesterday, and continued to supply areas in the South Southern part of the country such as Eket, Ekim, Uyo, and Itu 132kV transmission Substations during the period.

“Investigation into the cause of the incident will be carried out as soon as the grid is fully restored,” she noted.