Blackout cripples business in Northeast as power outage worsens

The entire Northeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria, as observed by The Guardian, has been plunged into total darkness again.

The situation is severely impacting business activities and causing widespread economic disruption across the region.

The power outage, which began last Sunday, remains unresolved, with many businesses and residents in the six affected states relying on alternative power sources to continue operations.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) previously announced that the blackout was caused by the tripping of its 330kV Ugwuaji–Apir Double Circuit transmission lines.

According to the TCN, Line 2 tripped at 4:53 a.m., transferring 243 MW to Line 1, which also tripped at 4:58 a.m., resulting in a total power loss of 468 MW.

Multiple attempts to restore the lines have remained unsuccessful.

Efforts to locate and fix the fault are ongoing, with two teams of linesmen dispatched from the Apir Transmission Sub-region and the Enugu transmission team.

Progress has been slow due to the difficult terrain and security challenges in the region.

A ‘sit-at-home’ directive in the Southeast on October 21 and 22 delayed the Enugu team’s efforts to begin patrolling the transmission line route.

While supply has been restored to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, the 330kV lines remain out of service, severely impacting power supply to northern Nigeria.

The TCN also reported that the Shiroro-Mando transmission line remains down due to security concerns, worsening the situation.

Businesses continue to struggle under the blackout, with no clear timeline for the restoration of full power.

Some residents from the affected states — Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe — told our correspondent by telephone that the situation, coupled with ongoing economic challenges, has worsened their plight.

They urged the relevant authorities, especially the federal government, to urgently intervene.