The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has reported a significant power outage affecting the North East, North West, and parts of North Central Nigeria following the tripping of its 330kV DC transmission line.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager for Public Affairs, confirmed that the fault occurred on Monday, disrupting electricity supply across the regions.
READ ALSO: TCN boss reveals outdated equipment in power sector
Mbah explained: “At approximately 4:53am, the Ugwuaji–Makurdi 330kV Line 2 tripped, and 243 MW was transferred to Line 1 on the same route. By 4:58am, Line 1 also tripped, resulting in a total loss of 468 MW.”
Efforts to restore power began immediately, but initial attempts to re-energize both lines at 5:15am and 5:17am were unsuccessful as they tripped again due to the same fault.
TCN promptly dispatched two teams of linesmen, one from Apir Transmission Sub-region and another from Enugu, to trace the fault along the 215-kilometer route, which includes 245 transmission towers. However, the team patrolling the Apir side was unable to locate the fault on Monday, despite navigating difficult terrains, including the River Benue area. Meanwhile, the team from Enugu could not commence their patrol due to the sit-at-home directive in the South East on October 21st and 22nd, which also delayed refueling of patrol vehicles.
Despite the challenges, TCN has managed to restore supply to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir. However, the 330kV lines remain out of service, affecting power supply in the northern regions. Additionally, the Shiroro-Mando transmission line is down due to security issues, further exacerbating the power outage.
Mbah assured the public that TCN is working tirelessly to resolve the situation. “We sincerely apologize to the government and electricity consumers in all the affected states. Our patrol teams are doing everything possible to locate the fault, despite the challenging terrains and insecurity.”
Nigeria has experienced several national grid collapses in 2024, with this incident marking at least the eighth major outage this year.
