The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced plans to conduct an investigative public hearing aimed at identifying the root causes behind the frequent collapses of the national power grid.
This decision follows the third grid failure within a week, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, causing widespread outages across the country.
In a statement posted on its X page, NERC stated that the hearing seeks to provide a lasting solution to the persistent challenges facing the national grid.
The Commission further noted that details regarding the date and venue of the public hearing will be published in national newspapers, encouraging stakeholders to actively participate.
NERC also confirmed that the collapsed grid had been restored by 1:00 p.m. in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The statement partly read: “The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission notes with concern the recent escalating incidence of grid disturbances often leading to marked outage in several states thus reversing many of the gains recently achieved in reducing infrastructure deficit and improving grid stability.
“Initial reports on the grid disturbance that occurred this morning indicate that today’s outage was triggered by an explosion of a current transformer at the Jebba transmission station at 0815hrs and an associated cascade of power plants shut down arising from the loss of load. However, efforts to restore supply have advanced with power significantly restored, as at 1300hrs, in 33 states and the FCT.
“In line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023, the unbundling of the System Operator function (ISO) out of Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc is ongoing with the expectation that an independent SO would engender more discipline in grid management and optimised investment in infrastructure.”
