Electricity consumers across the country may experience blackouts as the Federal Government ramps up efforts to stabilize the national grid through scheduled outages, according to the Nigerian Independent System Operator.
Currently, at least six states in the North-East are without power due to an ongoing outage managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, which is necessary for critical upgrades to transmission infrastructure.
Abdu Mohammed, Managing Director of the Nigerian Independent System Operator, shared this information in a video statement on Wednesday. He noted that the blackouts affecting Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, and Yobe states are part of a larger nationwide maintenance initiative that will eventually impact other regions as well.
This announcement comes in response to public concern following the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s commencement of construction on a turn-in-turn-out section along the 330kV Jos-Bauchi-Gombe transmission line to connect the new Bauchi 330kV transformer station.
Mohammed stated, “The outage in the northeastern states is a planned event aimed at improving infrastructure by the Transmission Company of Nigeria. This outage is specifically designed to enhance services in these states, particularly in Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, and Yobe.
This region has been experiencing some issues with power supply recently. However, the TCN is actively working to address these problems. They are set to implement a turn-in and turn-out project, which is the reason for the scheduled outage from Tuesday to Saturday. This will allow the TCN to complete the project and ultimately improve the power supply in the area.
Executing this project at this time is crucial to significantly enhance power supply in the region. It is part of an ongoing initiative that will also benefit other areas.”
The operator is responsible for managing grid operations and coordinating the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.
The NISO chief indicated that the nationwide maintenance project will continue throughout the year, cautioning that more regions should anticipate temporary blackouts in the coming months as similar upgrades are carried out elsewhere. “Once this project is underway, another region will undergo a similar process to ensure that infrastructure improvements are achieved as planned. Our aim is to significantly enhance the reliability and availability of electricity supply across Nigeria,” the NISO leader stated.
He acknowledged that the North-East corridor has experienced inconsistent power supply for years but assured that the current intervention, which involves a turn-in-turn-out connection along the 330kV Jos–Bauchi–Gombe line to connect the new Bauchi substation, will provide lasting relief to the area. “From Tuesday to Saturday, there will be a temporary outage to allow TCN to complete the project. After that, power supply in the region will improve significantly,” he explained.
