In a bid to stop the prolonged blackout, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said that it is working with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to restore power to areas that have been in darkness in the northern part of the country for some weeks.
TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mba said it is working with the office of the NSA to repair the vandalised Shiroro-Kaduna line that led to reduction of bulk electricity to Kaduna, Kano and other major cities in the northern part of the country.
He affirmed that bulk power supply would be restored as quickly as possible despite prevailing security challenges.
The statement read, “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 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 noted in the statement that TCN Executive Director (Independent System Operator), Engr. Nafisatu Ali had earlier noted that deploying engineers for repairs of the vandalized facility 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.
The statement added, “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 promise by TCN came amidst increasing outrage on the power outage affecting several states in Northern Nigeria.
The chairman of a coalition of civil society in Katsina, Mr AbdulRahman Abdullahi in a statement issued on Sunday lamented that access to electricity-driven healthcare services has been compromised, leading to the tragic loss of lives daily as a result of the outage.
Abdullahi said, “Electricity is a lifeline and its absence has brought a range of dire consequences.”
