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The northern region of Nigeria is marking its eighth consecutive day without electricity leading to significant disruptions in essential services and economic activities.
The outage, which began last Monday, was triggered by the tripping off of the 330kV circuit transmission line between Benue and Enugu, as well as the one between Shiroro and Kaduna, thereby severely impacting numerous Northern states
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said the 330kV DC Ugwaji-Apir double circuit tripped due to a fault, plunging the Northeast, Northwest, and parts of Northcentral Nigeria into darkness.
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Hospitals and laboratories, heavily reliant on stable electricity for medical equipment and diagnostic services, are facing increasing difficulties, resulting in delays and reduced healthcare availability for patients.
Local businesses, particularly frozen food vendors that depend on refrigerators, are also feeling the strain, with many reporting significant losses due to spoiled inventory.
Water vendors have dramatically increased their prices, effectively doubling the cost of water as they contend with the added expenses of running generators for boreholes.
Vandals have also reportedly taken advantage of the situation, targeting transformers and other power infrastructure, which further complicates efforts to restore service.
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TCN working to restore power in Northern Nigeria – Spokesman
The TCN on Sunday said it is doing everything possible to restore power in Northern Nigeria.
The company attributed delays in restoration to infrastructure challenges worsened by vandalism and insecurity.
TCN in a statement by its spokesman, Ndidi Mbah, said it is working with the Office of the National Security Adviser to repair the vandalised Shiroro-Kaduna line that led to a reduction of bulk electricity to Kaduna, Kano and other major cities in the north.
Mbah, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, said the company is confident that the bulk power supply will be restored as quickly as possible.
“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 statement read.
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“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.”
According to the statement, 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 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.
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“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.
It’s time for alternative power sources – Kwankwaso
Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said it’s about time to look into alternative options for power sources.
In a post on his official Facebook page, he said, “It is very disheartening that many parts of Northern Nigeria are in total darkness today due to vandalism on the important 330kV Shiroro-Kaduna power line that supplies the states of Kano and Kaduna and another line that supplies Bauchi, Gombe and other parts of the northeast.
“This situation has been further compounded by the high cost of petrol and diesel in Nigeria, which has further plunged homes into darkness and forced factories to close down.
“The time this crisis has taken to be addressed underscores the huge deficit of capacity our power sector has to address large scale problems and this must be addressed to avoid any future disruption.
“It is about time that we look into alternative power sources to address our energy needs and we need to exploit the abundant resources available to this country.”
Kwankwaso encouraged state governments and private investors to invest in alternative electricity sources.
“I wish to therefore encourage all state governments and private investors to invest in alternative electricity sources just like we did in Kano by installing two turbines in the Challawa Gorge and Tiga Dams in order to reduce the reliance on our inadequate and aged energy sources.”
Costly petrol, power outages recipe for business failure, poverty — Obi
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, says the constant power outages in many parts of Nigeria and the expensive cost of petroleum products may push many entrepreneurs out of business and sink more Nigerians into poverty.
In a Sunday post on X (formerly Twitter), the former Anambra State governor said the continued power outages in many parts of the country “have remained a cause of grievous concern”.
“The negative impact of the continued power outage on businesses, especially small businesses, who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood, is unimaginable.
“This power crisis, when combined with the present high cost of petroleum products and a harsh operating environment, remains a lethal recipe for widespread business failure and increasing poverty in the country,” Obi said.
He said solving Nigeria’s power and energy crisis is not rocket science as many of Nigeria’s peer nations have demonstrated the possibility of sustainable power for their citizens.
“Our African neighbour, Egypt, for example, invested aggressively in their power sector, which resulted in the establishment of a sustainable power infrastructure by way of many power stations.
“Today, Egypt has revolutionized power and energy production in the country, providing sustainable power to millions of small businesses, which account for over 90% of active enterprises in the country and contribute to over 80 per cent of their GD,” he said.
Obi called on the government to ramp up efforts and provide immediate and long-term solutions to the challenge.
My policy document offers solutions to blackouts – Atiku
Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said on Saturday that his policy document, titled “My Covenant with Nigerians,” contains the most effective strategy for addressing Nigeria’s ongoing power outages.
In a post on X, Atiku urged government agencies responsible for tackling blackouts to take immediate action to restore electricity in the affected geopolitical zones.
He also advocated for the decentralisation of the electricity sector, emphasising the need to remove the entire electricity value chain from the exclusive list.
“States should be empowered to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity independently,” he said.
We are losing billions daily to blackout – Discos
Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) said they are losing billions of naira due to the continued blackout in the northern part of the country.
A staff member from one of the affected DisCos, who requested anonymity, pointed out that the TCN should face penalties for failing to meet its contractual obligations within the transmission sector of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
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