Major parts of Northern Nigeria, including the North East, North West, and segments of the North Central region, have experienced a major power outage following the shutdown of the 330kV Ugwuaji–Apir Double Circuit transmission lines.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria disclosed the occurrence in a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, on Tuesday.
He explained that the outage occured after both circuits of the Ugwuaji–Apir transmission lines tripped due to a fault, resulting in widespread blackout across various regions.
The company explained that the first line, Ugwuaji–Makurdi 330kV Line 2, tripped at about 4:53 a.m., transferring 243 MW of power to Line 1. However, just five minutes later, at 4:58 a.m., Line 1 also failed, resulting in a total power loss of 468 MW.
Attempts to restore the lines at 5:15 a.m. and 5:17 a.m. were unsuccessful, as both tripped again.
Following the outage, TCN dispatched two teams of engineers to trace the fault along the 215-kilometer route with 245 transmission towers.
The statement said one team began inspections from the Apir Transmission Sub-region, while another started from the Enugu transmission zone.
However, it added that the Enugu team experiened delays due to a “sit-at-home” directive in the South East, which also complicated efforts to refuel patrol vehicles for the journey.
The statement reads in part, “Though TCN managed to restore power along the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, the critical 330kV lines remain down, affecting electricity supply across Northern Nigeria. Additionally, the Shiroro-Mando transmission line is still out of service due to security concerns, further worsening the power crisis in the region.”
The company assured the public that it was working tirelessly to trace the fault and repair the damaged lines.
It apologized to the affected states and electricity consumers, acknowledging that the difficult terrain—comprising forests, swamps, and rivers—has slowed down progress.
