By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
Following the commencement of industrial action declared by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (ShutTUC) on Monday June 3, 2024, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced the complete shutdown of country’s power grid by organized Labour.
The labour unions began the nationwide strike on Monday morning to protest against the Federal Government’s proposed N60,000 minimum wage.
In a press release titled “Grid Shutdown: Union Deliberately Shuts Down the National Grid,” TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah stated that the shutdown was deliberately executed by the workers in attempt to shut down operational activities in the country.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby informs the general public that the labour union has shut down the national grid, resulting in a blackout nationwide. The national grid shutdown occurred at about 2:19 am this morning, June 3, 2024,” the statement read.
According to Mbah, the Benin Transmission Operator under TCN’s Independent System Operations unit reported that at approximately 1:15 am, all operators were forcibly removed from the control room. “ Staff who resisted were beaten, and some were injured. This action brought the Benin Area Control Centre to a standstill, “ the statement noted.
The TCN added: “The power generating units from various stations were forced to shut down some of their generating plants.
“The Jebba Generating Station was forced to shut down one of its generating units while three others in the same substation subsequently shut down due to high frequency. The sudden forced load cuts led to high frequency and system instability, which eventually shut down the national grid at 2:19 am.”
According to reports, the TCN began efforts to recover the grid by using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to feed transmission lines supplying bulk electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation. However, notwithstanding these efforts, the labor union continued to obstruct grid recovery nationwide, noted the transmission company.
“We will continue to make efforts to recover and stabilize the grid to enable the restoration of normal bulk transmission of electricity to distribution load centers nationwide,” Mbah promised.
