From James Ojo, Abuja
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) at the weekend, blamed failures of Distribution companies to absorb power generated by Generation companies for the worsening power supply across the country.
Reacting to reports of request to generation companies to ‘ramp down’, TCN in an explanation by Mrs Seun Olagunju, said that electricity can not be stored, but must be used as it is being generated.
“Therefore, at any particular moment in time, there is a power flow balance equation that determines system frequency, with the target of operating at 50HZ frequency,” she noted.
She declared that it was the duty of the System Operator to monitor the power flow on the national grid to ensure optimal operating conditions, and that this will ensure the system is operated at a frequency close to 50HZ, and at voltages within tolerable limits.
According to her, there was a high system frequency (more than 50HZ) recently, which necessitated corrective measures to bring down the frequency to 50Hz leading to Distribution Companies to absorb more load and for Generation companies to reduce generation.
However, due to inexplicable reasons, some DISCOs failed to take more load as generation increases. “This has left the System Operator with no other option than to ask the GENCOs to reduce generation to ensure grid stability.
“The directive to GENCOs to reduce generation is imperative to maintain the integrity of the grid, as frequency higher than 50HZ could result in system disturbance. It is important to note that the directives are issued with a high sense of duty and responsibility to the nation and the entire electricity industry,” she observed.
“The System Operators’ decision is based on the fact that at normal operating frequency of 50Hz, the active power generated is equal to the active load consumed and losses. However, if the generated power is more than the load connected, the frequency rises higher than 50Hz, which can result in system disturbance.
To correct this imbalance, the system operator whose duty it is to maintain system stability has no choice than to ask the generating stations to drop the load to sustain the network integrity. This is the practice all over the world.