Florence Sadiku
THE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has restated its commitment to the restoration of bulk power supply to the North of Nigeria as quickly as possible “despite prevailing security challenges.”
TCN is a rebuttal of a report credited to the Executive Director, Independent System Operator, Engr. (Mrs) Nafisatu Ali, suggesting an indefinite power outage in parts of Northern Nigeria, the company insisted that Mrs Ali was quoted out of context regarding what she said at the recently held Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) public hearing.
According to TCN Engr. Ali, in her address at the hearing, said that 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.
“Engr. Ali emphasized that deploying engineers without security support is not feasible, given the risks in the region. She, therefore, 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 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 vandalised site to enable them to effect necessary repairs. This is vital to ensure the safety of lives during the repairs.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to overcoming these challenges because we understand the place of electricity in the socio-economic lives of the people and the extreme inconveniences this situation is causing the government and all electricity customers in all the affected areas.
“We pledge not to relent in doing everything possible to rectify the problems and restore power to the affected areas.
Eighteen-Eleven Media