NOA Blames Discos For Constant National Grid Collapse

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has blamed the constant grid collapses in Nigeria on the rejection of loads by the electricity distribution companies (Discos).

The NOA said the Discos are unable to carry the capacity of generated electricity.

Speaking via a statement on Tuesday after the national grid collapsed for the tenth time in 2024 alone, the NOA said the inability of the discos to play their part despite increased generation is responsible for the constant collapses of the nation’s electricity grid.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has an installed wheeling capacity of over 8.100 megawatts (MW) and can comfortably wheel out 6000MW of generated power thanks to these facility upgrades courtesy of the Siemens project as well as TCN’s internal projects.

“On the generation side, with the addition of the 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric plant which came on stream in the second quarter of the year, Nigeria’s national grid now has an installed power generation capacity of about 13,610MW.

“Despite the 13,610MW generation capacity and the over 8,000MW transmission capacity, the total active distribution capacity of the 11 Discos in Nigeria is still hovering around 4000MW.

“Just last month, on September 2nd, a peak generation in three years was achieved but out of the 5,313MW generated and wheeled out that day, the Discos rejected almost 1400MW due to their systems’ fragility.

“These load rejections by Discos contribute to the collapse of the national grid,” the NOA said.

The government agency also lamented that the action of the Discos discourages investment in the nation’s energy sector despite the best intentions of the government.

It said the inability of the DisCos to reap their gain from investments “has hampered them from upgrading their distribution substations and facilities to accept more power for distribution to their consumers.

“This environment discourages investment in the sector. However, the Tinubu administration is tackling this age-long challenge headlong.”

While praising the government of President Bola Tinubu, NOA listed the presidential metering initiative (PMI), cost-reflective tariffs for Band A customers, and $800 million for power substations and distribution upgrades as part of the efforts by the current administration in addressing power challenges in the country.