The Federal Government has announced plans to restore electricity to Northern Nigeria within the next 72 hours.
On October 22, the Transmission Company of Nigeria reported an outage affecting the North-East, North-West, and parts of North-Central Nigeria after the 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwaji-Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 experienced a trip.
Nafisatu Ali, Executive Director of the Independent System Operator, explained that the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, which supplies power to the North, was vandalized by insurgents.
In response to the situation, President Bola Tinubu has directed the military to secure the power lines while repairs are underway.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, October 29, during a session with the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South), Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu addressed the ongoing power outage in the northern region.
Adelabu explained that, as a temporary measure, power would be redirected through the Ugwuaji-Makurdi transmission line, which would cover approximately 80% of the affected states.
The Minister stated, “Power will be restored to the North in two to three days. We will use the Ugwuaji-Makurdi transmission line temporarily.”
Adelabu assured the committee that once full access is secured, repairs would be carried out on the damaged lines, with the goal of fully restoring power within the next 14 days.