Northern Nigeria Blackout: Minister of Power Adelabu Says No Billing During Outage Period

Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, has announced that customers affected by recent power outages in northern Nigeria will not be billed for electricity during blackout periods.

Adelabu stated that following issues with transmission lines, he plans to meet with the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and distribution companies (DisCos) to formalize this decision.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported significant outages in the north-east, north-west, and parts of the north-central regions on October 22, due to the tripping of the 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwaji-Apir transmission lines.

Additionally, the Shiroro-Kaduna line was vandalized, disrupting power supply to major cities like Kaduna and Kano. Another incident on October 24 involved a snapped 330 kV line in a swampy forest area of Benue State, further exacerbating the blackout.

In response to these disruptions, President Bola Tinubu directed the TCN to expedite repairs and ordered the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to ensure security for vulnerable transmission facilities.

Adelabu, addressing the issue, assured: “I’m going to have a meeting with the chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and all the DisCos for those days during which they suffer blackouts,” he said, adding, “There should not be billing of any sort for any customer, be it household customers, office consumers, or industrial consumers; they would be immune from billings from those periods.”

With national security support for the TCN from the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Air Staff, Adelabu expressed optimism about a swift restoration of power, assuring residents and businesses that they will not bear financial burdens for electricity they could not access.