A massive power outage has crippled several regions in Northern Nigeria, leading to the shutdown of numerous businesses and industries. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed the outage, which has affected the North-East, North-West, and parts of the North-Central regions.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, explained that the issue began at approximately 4:53 a.m. when the Ugwuaji–Markurdi 330kV Line 2 tripped, transferring 243 MW to Line 1. Minutes later, at 4:58 a.m., Line 1 also tripped, resulting in a total loss of 468 MW.
“By around 5:15 a.m. and 5:17 a.m., attempts were made to restore both lines, but they tripped immediately on the same relay indication,” Mbah said.
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The incident has forced power-dependent businesses in affected regions to halt operations. Reports indicate that the power outage has particularly impacted industries, SMEs, and commercial centers across the North, leading to temporary business closures and economic disruptions.
TCN has deployed teams of linesmen from its Apir and Enugu transmission sub-regions to trace the fault along the 215 km route, which includes 245 transmission towers.
The Apir team has been navigating challenging terrains, including the River Benue, but has yet to locate the source of the fault. Meanwhile, efforts to patrol the lines in Enugu were delayed due to the sit-at-home directive in the South-East, which affected operations on October 21st and 22nd.
Though the TCN has restored supply to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, the critical 330kV lines remain out of service, leaving significant portions of the Northern region without power.
Compounding the situation, the Shiroro-Mando transmission line remains down due to security challenges, further affecting the power supply in the region.
The outage has raised concerns about the continued strain on businesses, with many unable to operate under prolonged power shortages.
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