Blackout Hits Northern Nigeria As 330Kv Circuit Trips

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says its 330kV Ugwaji–Apir Double Circuit transmission lines 1 & 2 tripped due to a fault, leading to a power outage in several parts of northern Nigeria.

In a statement on Tuesday, the TCN General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the development “forced power outage affecting the communities in the North-east, North-west, and parts of North-Central”.

“At approximately 4:53 am, the Ugwuaji–Markurdi 330kV Line 2 tripped and 243 MW on that line was transferred to Line 1 on the same route. At 4:58 am, Line 1 also tripped, resulting in a total loss of 468 MW. By around 5:15 am and 5:17 am Line 1 and Line 2 were tried, but they all tripped immediately on the same relay indication,” the TCN said.

Following the incidents, the TCN said teams of linesmen have been dispatched to address the issue.

“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,” it said.

“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 have continued in the fault tracing early this morning.”

In a related development, the agency said the lines patrol team from the Enugu region of the TCN was unable to commence lines patrol on Monday owing to the sit-at-home directive in the South-East for October 21st and 22nd, 2024.

“This hindered not only the patrol team but also made it difficult to refuel patrol vehicles for the long-distance line trace. Arrangements were, however, made for security operatives to guide the team, who have commenced fault tracing this morning,” Mbah said.

“Currently, TCN has restored supply to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, but the 330kV lines remain out of service, impacting power supply in the Northern region of the country. Sadly, the TCN Shiroro-Mando transmission line is also down due to security reasons, causing a power outage in the North.”