The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has attributed ongoing power outages across parts of the northern region to the tripping of its 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwuaji-Apir Double Circuit transmission lines 1 and 2. According to TCN, the fault occurred on Monday, resulting in widespread outages affecting the North East, North West, and parts of North Central Nigeria.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager for Public Affairs, detailed the incident. She explained that the Ugwuaji-Makurdi 330kV Line 2 tripped off around 4:53 a.m., transferring 243 MW of power to Line 1 on the same route. Just five minutes later, at 4:58 a.m., Line 1 also tripped, resulting in a total power loss of 468 MW.
Attempts to restore power were made at 5:15 a.m. and 5:17 a.m. when both lines were re-energized but tripped off again due to the same fault.
Mbah disclosed that two teams of linesmen were immediately dispatched to trace the fault. One team from the Apir Transmission Sub-region and another from the Enugu Transmission Sub-region began the difficult task of patrolling the 215-kilometer route that includes 245 transmission towers. The Apir team patrolled the line throughout Monday, navigating challenging terrain, including the River Benue, but was unable to locate the fault. They resumed fault tracing early on Tuesday morning.
The Enugu team faced delays in commencing patrols due to the ‘sit-at-home’ order in the South East on October 21 and 22, which hindered operations and made refueling patrol vehicles difficult. However, security operatives were later deployed to guide the team, which began fault tracing on Tuesday.
Mbah noted that while power has been restored to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, the 330kV lines remain out of service, affecting power supply to the northern part of the country. Additionally, the TCN Shiroro-Mando transmission line is down due to security concerns, compounding the power outages in the region.
TCN assured the public that efforts are underway to locate the cause of the outages so that repairs can be made and bulk power supply restored. Mbah also apologized on behalf of the company to both the government and electricity consumers in the affected states. She acknowledged the challenges faced by patrol teams, including navigating swamps, rivers, and insecure forest areas, which had delayed efforts to trace the fault.
The company has promised to continue fault tracing with the assistance of security operatives to ensure swift resolution of the issue.
