Monday, 13th January 2025
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

TCN, Kaduna Electric urge calm amid ongoing power outages in North

By Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna 
22 October 2024   |   10:50 am
Officials from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Kaduna Electric have called for patience among residents in Northern states as the region continues to experience power outages due to issues with electricity transmission. On Tuesday, TCN announced that the outages were linked to the tripping of its 330kV DC Transmission Line, which has affected…
Vandals destroy transmission towers in Damaturu-Maiduguri - TCN
Transmission Company of Nigeria  – TCN

Officials from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Kaduna Electric have called for patience among residents in Northern states as the region continues to experience power outages due to issues with electricity transmission.

On Tuesday, TCN announced that the outages were linked to the tripping of its 330kV DC Transmission Line, which has affected power supply in the North East, North West, and parts of North Central States.

General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, Ndidi Mbah, stated that the Ugwaji-Apir Double Circuit transmission lines tripped due to a fault, resulting in a significant loss of power.

Mbah explained, “At approximately 4:53 AM, the Ugwuaji-Makurdi 330kV Line 2 tripped, transferring 243 MW to Line 1, which also tripped shortly after, leading to a total loss of 468 MW.”

He added that attempts to restore power were unsuccessful, as both lines tripped immediately upon being re-engaged.

In response to the situation, TCN dispatched two teams of linesmen to trace the fault along the 215 km route, which includes 245 transmission towers. However, one team from Enugu was unable to begin their patrol due to a sit-at-home directive in the Southeast, which complicated logistics and refuelling efforts.

READ ALSO: TCN, Kaduna Electric urge calm amid ongoing power outages in North

Mbah noted that TCN has restored power to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, but the 330kV lines remain out of service. He emphasised that the Shiroro-Mando transmission line is also down for security reasons, further contributing to the outages in the North.

While assuring residents that efforts are underway to identify and fix the problem, Mbah expressed apologies to the government and electricity consumers for the disruptions. He noted the challenging terrain and security concerns faced by patrol teams in their efforts to locate the fault.

In a related announcement, Kaduna Electric acknowledged the ongoing outages in Kaduna, Zaria, and Gusau, attributing the situation to the loss of bulk power supply from TCN. Corporate Affairs Head Abdul-Azeez Abdullahi stated that TCN’s Agwaji-Benue-Jos 330kV bulk circuit tripped, interrupting power supply to several areas.

Abdullahi reassured customers that TCN’s engineering crews are currently patrolling the line to identify and rectify the faults, and he apologised for the inconvenience caused by the service interruptions.

In this article

0 Comments