- Towers vandalised on Jos-Gombe lines; TCN seeks alternative supply for Gombe.
- Earth fault on Afam/Elelenwo line causes power cuts in Port Harcourt areas, TCN reports.
On Tuesday, April 22, the Transmission Company of Nigeria announced that vandals had damaged four towers. This happened along the Jos-Gombe 330kV transmission lines. To mitigate the incident’s effect on electricity consumers, TCN is trying to feed Gombe through its 132kV transmission line. The line would be from Bauchi, Ashaka, Potiskum, Damaturu, and Billiri/Savannah.
TCN also announced on Tuesday that an earth fault caused an ongoing power interruption on the Afam/Elelenwo 132kV transmission line. The Company noted that the sudden supply disruption prevented Port Harcourt DisCo from delivering electricity to its customers. This happened in certain areas around the state.
Since the beginning of 2024, electricity transmission vandalism has persisted as a recurring challenge. Power sector stakeholders have promised to tackle the problem. However, sector experts believe that the value chain leaves many issues unaddressed.
According to Naija News, an electricity sector expert, Mr Kelechukwu Ogu. He said Nigeria lacks critical power infrastructure, contributing to sector decay.
Debate reignites over the stability of Nigeria’s power infrastructure, which provides 4,000MW for 200 million citizens. Additionally, the federal government defends a tariff hike to acquire essential equipment, aiming to prevent further grid failures.
Mr Ogu disputes this, citing the absence of critical systems. For example, there are supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and insufficient spinning reserves. He criticises the centralised grid and advocates for decentralisation and real-time flexibility.
Mr Ogu questions Distribution Companies’ ability to give Band A customers 20 hours of power daily. He doubts the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s capacity to handle over 5,000 megawatts daily.
Mr. Ogu suggests testing the new tariffs and Band A classifications to monitor actual service delivery. He concludes that 20 hours of daily power supply may not be consistently achievable.