The Nigerian government said on Tuesday that efforts are underway to restore power supply in the northern region of the country and that electricity is expected to be fully restored by the end of the week.
This was revealed by the Minister of Energy, Adebayo Adelabu, while speaking at the press conference organized by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
“So I can assure you that before the end of this week the power to the north will be restored. We are exploring alternative routes and we hope that in a matter of days power will be restored in the north,” Adelabu said.
Last week, TCN said its Shiroro-Mando transmission line was damaged due to sabotage, causing a power outage in many northern states.
On Tuesday, the minister said the government will continue working on the torn up lines.
“We will continue working on the vandalized lines. In reality, this must have affected several parts, not just the lines. Among the first parts, we know that a lot of work needs to be done before direct energy can show that they are properly positioned for the southward flow of light. Thus, in a matter of two or three days, more than 70 to 80 percent of the affected northern part will have light. “That is the security we give them,” he stated.
“This is not the first time we will have problems in that regard. We've had vandalism there before, but no one noticed because we fixed it in a few days. But this time it was more serious and repairs were delayed due to security threats.”
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He explained that vandalization of transmission equipment in the North is not unusual.
“We are just appealing to our brothers to help us protect this equipment because resources that could have been used for other projects are being channeled towards repairing vandalized infrastructure. We are working and we hope the power is restored before the end of the week. “We are exploring alternative solutions as we continue to work to fix the vandalized towers,” he added.
Vandalism
The minister noted that a bill on capital punishment for perpetrators of vandalism is being processed in the National Assembly.
“We want harsher punishments for these criminals. Additionally, we must consider stopping the sale of scrap metal in the country. “They are the ones who encourage vandalism because they buy these things from criminals for little money.”
In his remarks, TCN Managing Director and CEO Sule Abdulaziz explained that the 330kv Shiroro-Mando Line 1 tripped on September 9, noting that patrolling of the safe zone was carried out but could not be reached. to the defective section due to insecurity.
“Efforts were made using local security guards who confirmed that there was a security driver at a tower but were unable to identify the tower number. Arrangements were made to use the local group to escort our engineers overnight for repairs in order to evade bandits on site. Unfortunately we did not succeed because the bandits found out about our intentions and laid siege to the area,” he said.
He said minimal supply was maintained to the northwest corridor through the second loop until Oct. 13, when the second line was tripped and unable to remain in the new trial closure.
He further explained that local security guards had been hired again to comb the area, but they were only able to access part of the safe area.
Therefore, he said TCN requested the support of the Nigerian Air Force in Kaduna for unmanned aerial surveillance on October 17 and the impacted towers were identified.
“There were four of them, three of them totally collapsed and a number twisted.”
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In another related development, he said vandalism was reported on the 330 kV Ugwuaji – Apir lines on October 21, resulting in the lines being tripped. The lock test failed and the patrol revealed damaged drivers due to vandalism.
This, he said, aggravated the transmission of bulk power to the northern corridor, as these lines serve as a link between the northern and southern areas.
“This disruption severely affected TCN's transportation capacity. The affected area has been secured with the help of the Nigerian Army and concerted efforts are being made on one of the lines for its restoration. The restoration of one of these lines will allow TCN to mobilize around 400 MW of energy in that corridor. Additionally, TCN is intensifying its efforts to repair and restore the second line at Ugwuaji – Apir on or before Sunday, November 3.
“This will enable TCN to transport a substantial amount of power through Apir to Jos, from Kaduna to Kano. In conclusion, TCN is working with ONSA for personnel and site safety on the Shiroro – Mando 330kV SC lines to begin the rehabilitation of the impacted towers on this axis,” he said.