Power generation drops by 630mw after fire outbreak at Egbin Power Plant in Lagos state

A fire outbreak at the Egbin Power Plant in Ikorodu, Lagos state has led to power generation dropping by 630 megawatts (MW). 

The fire incident occurred at the company’s power plant on Wednesday February 2 at about 4.20 pm, leading to a blackout in Lagos state. The fire outbreak was successfully contained by a team of firefighters in collaboration with firefighters from the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) in Egbin.

Egbin Power Plc said in a statement on Friday February 4, that shutting down power generation, coupled with the load reduction mechanism adopted by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) helped to prevent system collapse.

The company also revealed that the thermal plant has an installed capacity of 1,320MW consisting of six units of 220MW each, while its actual average generating capacity is about 800MW. 

Assuring the general public that its technical team are working to restore operations, Egbin power company also announced that it has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire incident following the temporary suspension of its operations in line with the plant’s safety procedures.

Ndidi Mba, TCN’s spokesperson also confirmed on Thursday February 3 that the fire incident had led to the removal of a total of 630MW from the national grid.

Mba said; 

“We know that there was a fire outbreak and the total generation of 630MW was removed from the grid because of that.

“You know, when a fire outbreak happens, even if it doesn’t affect the entire units, the tendency is that to protect the other ones, you shut them down.

“So, as I said, 630mw was removed from the grid on that day (Wednesday).”