Tony Ezimakor,Abuja
Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has inaugurated a committee to develop Advanced Network Monitoring System towards enhanced grid stability.
This is as vandals brought down four towers along the Owerri-Ahoada 132kV Double Circuit line
resulting in their total collapse last Thursday.
TCN said the advanced network monitoring system when in place
will curb present grid collapse and mitigate power system disturbances.
According to a statement by Ndidi Mbah TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, the committee’s primary objective is. ” to design and implement an advanced monitoring system equipped with integrated data analysis and real-time operational awareness capabilities to ensure optimization of generation and transmission resources in our grid operations”.
Inaugurating the committee the Executive Director, Independent System Operations (ISO), Engr. (Mrs) Nafisat Ali highlighted the importance of the initiative noting that the System Operator is responsible for managing the entire power system network, which includes planning and monitoring operations.
She noted however that the current manual operation poses challenges in terms of visibility and tracking of the activities of various stakeholders. Engr. Nafisat added that the increasing complexity of the power system necessitates the development of a comprehensive Network Monitoring System.
The Committee Chairman, Engr. Ojo Thomas Oladeji, who is also the Assistant General Manager (Research) at ISO, noted that TCN’s in-house engineers have proficiently maintained the system with locally developed solutions. He also mentioned that the committee intends to leverage the capabilities of Phase Measuring Units (PMU) along with existing IoT data to meet its goals.
The eight-member committee will employ domestic technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), to develop the Network Monitoring System. This system will be operational prior to the completion of the ongoing work on the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System and will subsequently serve as a backup.
The comprehensive deployment of IoT throughout the grid network, coupled with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools across generation, transmission, and distribution data processing, will significantly enhance the project’s success.
On the collapsed towers along Owerri – Ahoada transmission corridor, the company disclosed that investigations confirmed that the towers’ collapse was a direct result of vandalism.
” This incident has disrupted power supply to the Ahoda, Gbarain, and Yenagoa 132kV transmission substations, affecting some parts of Rivers State and the entire Bayelsa State.
” The affected towers, T171 to T174, were compromised, which led to their collapse at approximately 6:23 pm on Tuesday, 11th March. The towers were discovered after a failed trial reclosure that prompted a subsequent patrol.
“A team of engineers, led by the General Manager of the Port Harcourt Region, Engr. Emmanuel Apka has visited the site to assess the extent of the damage. TCN is making frantic effort to mobilize personnel and materials for the repair of the vandalized towers so that the bulk power supply can be restored to the affected states.
“We condemn this act of vandalism, which continues to undermine efforts made to put in place a robust transmission grid. We are again calling on host communities to join us in the urgent fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure”.
