The restoration comes after nine days of total blackout in the northwest, northeast, and parts of north-central Nigeria. This sparked public outrage and led the federal government to deploy armed forces to protect the engineers.

Speaking on the latest development, Mbah said: “The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has successfully restored bulk power supply through its 330kV Ugwuaji-Apir transmission line 1 as of 4:56 pm today, following the completion of repairs on the vandalized section of the line.

“With the restoration of this line, the Apir-Lafia 330kV transmission line 2 is now operational, also, bulk power transmission has been restored to Lafia, Makurdi, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, & Gombe States.

“As restoration efforts continue, with the TCN engineering team preparing to commence work on the second 330kV transmission line. All necessary materials for the repairs are on hand, and work will begin as soon as the site is secured for the safety of our personnel to the affected sections of the vandalized 330kV transmission line two.

“In the meantime, teams of linesmen will re-patrol the 330kV line 2 to ensure that no other sections are impacted as the repair works progress.”

It has been reported earlier that states in the North-West, North-East, and parts of North-Central Nigeria are set to face power outages due to a disruption in the two 330kV Ugwaji-Apir Double Circuit transmission lines, affecting power supply in these regions.

This was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ndidi Mbah, through a circular. Mbah stated that the tripping of both lines has resulted in a loss of 468 megawatts (MW), leading to a significant power outage. Moreover, there have been several instances of transmission line tripping and even grid collapses this year, causing extensive blackouts across various states and nationwide.

Nigeria is currently struggling with inadequate electricity supply, forcing individuals and companies to rely on diesel-powered generators to sustain businesses and industries.

The power supply deficit has been linked to multiple factors, including low power generation, insufficient gas supply, and issues with distribution companies. Moreover, this situation is further aggravated by frequent disruptions of transmission lines due to vandalism, weather-related events, and technical challenges. As a result, the reliance on generators has increased operational costs for businesses, affecting profitability and limiting economic growth.

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The incident, which took place at about 21:18, 21st of December, 2023, caused the failure of power supply to parts of the North East, namely, Yobe and Borno States.

“While patrolling the line to ascertain the cause of the cut in power supply, TCN engineers discovered the fallen towers, and the villagers confirmed they heard a loud explosion before the tower came down.  On closer investigation, the engineers found evidence of explosive used by the vandals in bringing down the towers”, Ndidi Mbah, general manager, Public Affairs at TCN said.

“Presently, TCN mobilized one of its contractors to the site of the incident to commence the reconstruction of the transmission towers damaged by the vandals.

“TCN strongly condemns the incident and regrets the inconvenience caused to the government and people of Yobe and Borno States and pledges to do all that is possible to quickly re-erect the towers to restore power supply to the affected areas.

“We are once again making an urgent appeal to host communities to collaborate with TCN in the fight against vandalism and the necessary preservation of power infrastructures nationwide, which is our collective asset”, Mbah added.

[Source]

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