Blackout Hits Abuja, Kogi, As Another Power Station Collapses

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, along with certain areas in Kogi State, are presently grappling with power outages attributed to technical malfunctions.

These affected areas fall within the jurisdiction of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), which is responsible for supplying electricity to these regions.

Specifically, on Tuesday, the AEDC communicated to its patrons residing in locales such as Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, and Ruga Juli in Abuja regarding the cause of the power disruption.

The utility company cited a technical fault occurring on the 33kv feeder k6 originating from the AT9 Karu Transmission Station as the primary reason for the outage.

As a result of the technical glitch, residents in these areas are experiencing inconvenience and disruption to their daily activities due to the lack of electricity supply.

The outage not only affects individual households but also impacts businesses and essential services reliant on uninterrupted power.

The timely communication from the AEDC serves to inform affected customers about the root cause of the power interruption, providing transparency regarding the situation and offering insights into potential resolution efforts.

Efforts are underway to address the technical issue and restore electricity supply to the affected areas. However, until the fault is rectified, residents are advised to exercise patience and make necessary arrangements to mitigate the inconvenience caused by the power outage. The situation underscores the importance of maintaining reliable infrastructure and implementing swift response mechanisms to address technical challenges in the power distribution network, ensuring consistent and uninterrupted access to electricity for residents and businesses alike.

“The management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc wishes to notify its esteemed customers that there is currently a technical fault on 33kv feeder k6 from AT9 Karu Transmission Station, managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

“The areas affected in Abuja are: Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, Ruga Juli, Old Karu Road, Glory Estate and environs,” the Disco said in a statement.

The AEDC disclosed that the TCN maintenance crew was working to ensure the supply of electricity to these areas was restored soon, regretting any inconvenience caused.

Earlier, the TCN had announced its maintenance crew would carry out planned maintenance on its TR3 45MVA and TR2 60MVA power transformers in its 132/33kV Okene Transmission Substation.

The maintenance was scheduled to run from Tuesday to Wednesday, from 10 am to 3 pm on each day.

Consequently, Abuja DisCo will not be able to off-take power from the substation to its customers in Okene, Kabba, Ososo, and Ikare during the period of maintenance.

“Kindly note that bulk power supply will be restored to Abuja DisCo immediately after maintenance work is completed,” the TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, said.

Meanwhile, Mbah said the TCN had commissioned a 100MVA 132/33kV power transformer at its Port Harcourt Main Transmission Substation to increase the bulk transmission capability of the substation by 80MW.

This initiative, which she said was in collaboration with the World Bank, also includes the complete rehabilitation and expansion of the 132/33kV transmission substation and the addition of three feeders and associated accessories.

“With the installation of the 100MVA power transformer, the substation’s installed capacity increased from 180MVA to 280MVA. Notably, industries in the Trans Amadi industrial environment and communities beyond Port Harcourt city will benefit significantly from this capacity expansion,” she added.

Recall that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, recently summoned the management of the AEDC over the worsening power supply in its franchise.

Adelabu also summoned the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Abdulazeez, over the deteriorating power situation across the country since January this year.

But, the Discos and the TCN have repeatedly blamed the low power supply on gas shortage, vandalism, energy theft, and other factors.