Northern Nigeria Suffers Devastating Blackout as 330Kv Circuit Trips

Northern Nigeria Faces Blackout As 330Kv Circuit Trips

Northern Nigeria is currently experiencing a massive power outage due to a fault in the 330kV Ugwaji-Apir Double Circuit transmission lines.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported that the lines tripped at approximately 4:53 am, resulting in a total loss of 468 MW.

In a statement on Tuesday, the TCN General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the development “forced power outage affecting the communities in the North-east, North-west and parts of North-central”.

At approximately 4:53 am, the Ugwuaji-Markurdi 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,” the TCN said.

The TCN teams have been dispatched to address the issue, with one team from the Apir Transmission Sub-region and another from the Enugu transmission.

They are working to trace the fault along the 215 km route, which includes 245 transmission towers.

However, their efforts were hindered by challenging terrain and the sit-at-home directive in the southeast on October 21-22, 2024.

“This hindered not only the patrol team but also made it difficult to refuel patrol vehicles for the long-distance line trace. Arrangements were, however, made for security operatives to guide the team, who have commenced fault tracing this morning,” Mbah said.

To make matters worse, the TCN Shiroro-Mando transmission line is also down due to security reasons, further impacting the power supply in the North.

The TCN has managed to restore supply to the 132kV transmission line from New Haven to Apir, but the 330kV lines remain out of service

This isn’t the first time northern Nigeria has faced power outages due to transmission line issues.

In May 2024, collapsed transmission towers caused prolonged outages, with the TCN attributing the damage to vandalism.

The company has emphasised the need for collective efforts to protect transmission infrastructure.