Fault in transmission lines plunges northern Nigeria into blackout

Some 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 supplying electricity to the northeast, northwest and parts of north-central tripped on Tuesday, causing blackout in the northern region.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) blamed it on a ‘fault’ which made the lines trip around 4:53 am.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reports that its 330kV Ugwaji–Apir Double Circuit transmission lines1&2, tripped due to a fault, resulting in a forced power outage affecting the North East, North West and parts of North Central,” spokesman of TCN, Ndidi Mbah, said in a statement.

“At approximately 4:53 am, the Ugwuaji-Makurdi 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.

“Following the tripping incidents yesterday, two teams of linesmen were dispatched—one from the Apir Transmission Sub-region and another from the Enugu transmission team—to expedite fault tracing along the 215 km route, which includes 245 transmission towers.

“Throughout yesterday, the Apir team patrolled the line, navigating difficult terrain in search of the fault, reaching as far as the River Benue. They could not locate the cause of the tripping and have continued the fault tracing early this morning.”

Meanwhile, TCN said a ‘sit-at-home’ directive for Monday and Tuesday reportedly issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) affected the commission’s patrol activities.

“This restricted not only the patrol team but also made it difficult to refuel patrol vehicles for the long-distance line trace. However, arrangements were made for security operatives to guide the team, who have now commenced fault tracing this morning.

“Currently, TCN has restored supply to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, but the 330kV lines remain out of service, affecting power supply in the northern region. Unfortunately, the TCN Shiroro-Mando transmission line is also down due to security challenges, causing a power outage in the North,” the statement said.