How Nigeria Can Tackle Collapse Of National Grid-Expert

Goody Duru-Oguzie,the Managing Director of PowTech Power International Limited,has emphasized the need for Nigeria to embrace  smart communications technology with a view to nipping frequent collapse of the nation’s grid in the bud.

Last  Thursday, the country was thrown into total black out on account of total collapse of the grid system.The Transmission Company of Nigeria,has promised to investigate the circumstance surrounding the collapse which  denied most Nigerians electricity supply on Sallah Day.

Smart grid communications,he told PREMIUM NEWS, enables utilities to achieve three key objectives: intelligent monitoring, security, and load balancing.

According to him, using two-way communications, data can be collected from sensors and meters located throughout the grid and transmitted directly to the grid operator’s control room.

He said this added communications capability provides enough bandwidth for the control room operator to actively manage the grid.

He said:”The communications must be reliable, secure, and low cost. The sheer scale of the electrical grid network makes cost a critical consideration when implementing a communications technology. Selecting a solution that minimizes the number of modems and concentrators needed to cover the entire system can dramatically reduce infrastructure costs.

 At the same time, the selected technology must have enough bandwidth to handle all data traffic being sent in both directions over the grid network. In concrete terms, a smart grid is an infrastructure that puts emphasis firmly on active rather than passive control. A good analogy is in the control of traffic on a busy stretch of motorway.

” During off-peak periods, cars can drive freely with no speed restrictions other than the maximum speed limit. But in the rush-hour the warning signs on the overhead gantries are used to impose speed limits on specific lanes.

“So, by restricting the speed of movement of individual streams, congestion is avoided, optimizing the flow of all traffic. More intelligent control of power flows in the transmission and distributions systems will allow higher utilization even during high demand periods.

“The management of such a complex grid power system will depend on real-time and secure communications and highly adaptive control systems. These will provide utilities and their customers with real-time information from across the network on the performance of grid installations, power flow and consumer demand. They will allow intelligent automated devices to react to imbalances in the system and also improve asset management by enabling improved predictive maintenance programs and faster emergency response times”.

He attributed  frequent collapse of the national grid to the fact that  Nigeria’s electricity grid lacks adequate two-way communications which is critical to effective and efficient grid management.

The absence of this is responsible for the frequent grid failures and system collapses that has characterized the noted disruptions in power supply to consumers leading to expanded scope of power outages more than ever,he added