In a statement on Sunday titled “TCN clarifies on efforts to restore bulk power in Northern Nigeria amid security challenges,” General Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah explained that vandalism caused the outage, disrupting bulk power supply to the region reiterating that insecurity in the area has hindered swift repairs, delaying restoration of electricity supply.
TCN explained that, “The current outage affecting Northern states for several days now is a result of vandalism of the Shiroro-Mando transmission line-a critical infrastructure that supplies electricity to the region.”
Meanwhile, TCN is collaborating with the National Security Adviser’s office to secure the area, to enable engineers to carry out repairs on the affected site, Mbah said.
As a temporary solution, she said that TCN rerouted bulk power through the Ugwuaji-Apir 330kV line, which recently experienced a fault.
TCN assures that it’s working diligently to restore bulk power supply as quickly as possible despite challenges.
The statement published on TCN’s official X handle, partly reads: “Contrary to media reports suggesting an indefinite power outage in parts of Northern Nigeria, erroneously attributed to the Executive Director Independent System Operator, Mrs Nafisatu Ali, while speaking at the recently held NERC public hearing, TCN would like to state categorically that it is working diligently to restore bulk power supply as quickly as possible despite prevailing security challenges.
“Mrs Ali, in her address at the hearing, said that the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, which supplies power to Northern Nigeria, was vandalized by insurgents and in response, TCN has partnered with the National Security Adviser’s office to secure the area, enabling her engineers to work safely on the restoration.
“She emphasized that deploying engineers without security support is not feasible, given the risks in the region. She therefore dispelled any suggestion that restoration would be indefinite, stressing that TCN’s focus remains on ensuring an even supply of electricity nationwide and that security arrangements were underway.
“The current outage affecting Northern states for several days now is a result of vandalism of the Shiroro-Mando transmission line-a critical infrastructure that supplies electricity to the region. Prevailing insecurity in the area has delayed the immediate repair necessary to restore supply.
“However, as a temporary measure, TCN had rerouted bulk power supply through the Ugwuaji-Apir 330kV line, which recently snapped.
“TCN has been collaborating closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to work with our engineers to access the vandalism site to enable them to effect necessary repairs. This is vital to ensure the safety of lives during the repairs.”
“We pledge not to relent in doing everything possible to rectify the problems and restore power supply to the affected areas,” Mbah said.