The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the market operator’s failure to utilize $30 billion allocated for developing a spinning reserve within Nigeria’s electricity sector. This criticism comes in light of the 162 system collapses recorded since the sector’s privatization 11 years ago and follows three significant outages within just one week, raising alarms about the stability of the national grid.

During a public consultation held in Abuja, NERC Chairman/CEO Sanusi Garba labeled the frequent grid collapses a national embarrassment, emphasizing that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is not making optimal use of its limited resources. Garba urged the market operator to expedite the utilization of the funds designated for enhancing grid stability, stating, “If this is identified as a critical thing we need to do… then obviously you are not a banker. You are supposed to use that money for the purpose it was meant for.”

He further mentioned that NERC would revisit the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) to address urgent needs and mitigate risks associated with ongoing system failures. The commission is also working on the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project to fill in identified gaps and enhance the monitoring of grid operations.

The public hearing saw various stakeholders, including civil society representatives and industry experts, voicing their concerns. They attributed the ongoing grid collapses to TCN’s inadequate operational practices and aging infrastructure, calling for a shift from manual maintenance to a more effective maintenance management software that could monitor equipment conditions in real-time.

Joy Ogaji, managing director of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), noted the significant economic losses caused by the grid failures, stating that the grid has collapsed 162 times since 2013. She emphasized the urgent need for a spinning reserve to help stabilize the grid and mitigate the volatility caused by various industrial demands.

Stakeholders echoed the need for TCN to unbundle and enhance service delivery to improve the performance of Nigeria’s electricity supply system, highlighting that the grid’s operational frequency has consistently fallen short of regulatory standards, exacerbating the challenges faced by consumers and businesses alike.