Authorities Vow To Restore Power Supply To Northern Nigeria In Days
By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The federal government, through the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has assured that efforts by the company’s engineers to restore the Ugwuaji- Apir lines were in top gear to resume bulk power supply to the over 70 per cent part of the North that has been in darkness following the last grid collapse before the weekend.
Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu, while making clarifications at a press conference called by TCN on Tuesday to update the public on efforts being made to fix the power issues up North, corroborated the the statement of the transmission company’s Managing Director, MD, Engr Sulei Abdul Aziz, that supply will be restored there in five days latest.
TCN had in a statement issued following the emergency by its General Manager, GM, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, announced that its 330kV Ugwaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines1 and 2, tripped due to a fault, resulting in a forced power outage affecting the North East, North West and parts of North Centra.
It also lamented that the Shiroro-Mando line which should have been the link instead had been down and could not be redeemed due to security threats in the area.
According to the Minister, based on the information made available to him, “light will be restored to the affected 70 to 80 per cent part of the North that have been without light for days since the incident 330kV Ugwaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines1 and 2, tripped due to a fault
Regretting the situation and appealing for more patience from Nigerians, Adelabu noted that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope administration is doing everything possible to take power supply to the next level, initiating and implementing various programmes towards the attainment of uninterrupted and sustainable service across the country.
According to the Minister, proposals for mid-and-long term solutions such as establishing regional grids, exploring and harnessing alternative energy sources among others are been looked into already, even as Mr President has approved the establishment of a super grid, all in a bid to ensure that a fault at one point does not throw all or most part of the country into darkness as has been the case.
While addressing the press earlier, the TCN boss explained that restoration works on the Ugwuaji-Apir lline 1 was at an advanced stage for it to be ready in 24 hours while the line 2 would be restored in 5 days, both to deliver 400 to 500 megawatts, MWs, to the area.
“The fault area has been secured with help of the Nigerian Army and converted effort is ongoing to restore one of the two lines which will enable TCN to wheel 400MWs to that corridor, and could be achieved between today and tomorrow.
“Also TCN is intensifying effort to restore the second line on or before Sunday, 3rd November, 2024, to enable TCN wheel substantial quantum of power along the axis,” he explained.
Lamenting that seemingly insurmountable security challenge has made things difficult, the TCN boss said the power crisis in the North could not be managed because the Shiroro-Mando line which also connect the area to the south had been down and all efforts that had been made to restore it stalled due to the prevailing security challenges in the axis.
Speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to Mr President on Community Engagement NorthWest, Abdullahi Yankassai, urged the people to consider the concerted effort being made by the authorities to restore normalcy within the shortest time and give them the chance to deliver, as the incident, from the explanations given, was not a deliberate or calculated attempt to harm the people of the North.