Nigeria News
Why There’s A Delay In Fixing Power Outage In Northern Nigeria – TCN
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has explained why it is taking several days to restore power supply to many major cities in Northern Nigeria affected by a recent power outage.
The TCN, in a statement on Sunday, said the prevailing security situation in the area has delayed the repair necessary to restore power to affected areas.
The TCN statement, signed by its spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, however, added that it has partnered with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), to secure the area and allow its engineers get to work.
Mbah emphasized that the vandalized Shiroro-Kaduna line led to a reduction of bulk electricity to Kaduna, Kano, and other major cities in the north, but efforts are being made to fix the affected infrastructure.
“TCN would like to state categorically that it is working diligently to restore bulk power supply as quickly as possible despite prevailing security challenges.
“The Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, which supplies power to Northern Nigeria, was vandalized by insurgents & 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,” the statement read.
The statement added that the TCN Executive Director (Independent System Operator), Engr. (Mrs) Nafisatu Ali noted that deploying engineers without security support is not feasible, given the risks in the region.
She, however, allayed any fear that restoration would be indefinite, stressing that TCN is already working round the clock to ensure the quick restoration of power supply.
“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,” the statement concluded.