Why there is widespread power outage in Northern Nigeria — TCN

• TCN has restored supplies to the 132kV line, but the 330kV lines are still down, affecting power distribution

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has declared a substantial power outage in the North-East, North-West and parts of the North-Central regions as a result of a breakdown in its 330kV Ugwaji-Apir transmission line.

The event occurred on Monday at 4:53 a.m., when the Ugwuaji-Makurdi Line 2 tripped owing to a fault, causing a total loss of 468 MW by 4:58 a.m. Despite attempts by two teams despatched for fault tracking and travelling difficult terrains, the cause is unknown.

TCN has restored supplies to the 132kV line, but the 330kV lines are still down, affecting power distribution. Additionally, the TCN Shiroro-Mando transmission line is down for security reasons, resulting in another power outage in the North.

This latest development follows multiple collapses of the National grid, with at least eight cases recorded in 2024 alone. TCN apologises for the inconvenience and assures that work is ongoing to resolve the issue.

“Following the tripping incidents yesterday, two teams of linesmen were dispatched. One from the Apir Transmission Sub-region and another from the Enugu transmission to expedite fault tracing along the 215 km route, which includes 245 transmission towers.

“Throughout yesterday, the Apir team patrolled the line, navigating challenging terrains in search of the fault, reaching as far as the River Benue. They were unable to locate the cause of the tripping and continued in the fault tracing early this morning,” said Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs.

The company is working diligently to trace the cause of the outage and effect repairs to restore bulk power supply through both lines.

The power outage has affected various states in Northern Nigeria, leaving residents without electricity. TCN urges consumers to bear with them as they work to resolve the issue.