By Ken Afor
Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria’s capital and several areas in Kogi state are grappling with power disruptions due to technical glitches within the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) coverage.
The AEDC in a statement issued said that areas, including Zamani Estate, Abacha Road Mararaba, and Ruga Juli in Abuja, were affected.
According to the electricity company, a technical fault on the 33kv feeder k6 originating from the AT9 Karu Transmission Station has been identified as the cause of the outage.
Meanwhile, in Kogi State, similar power outages have been reported, further exacerbating the situation for residents already grappling with various challenges.
“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 (TCN).
“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.
It noted that the TCN maintenance engineers are working to restore electricity supply to the affected areas, expressing regret for any inconvenience caused.
Earlier, TCN announced planned maintenance on its TR3 45MVA and TR2 60MVA power transformers at the 132/33kV Okene Transmission Substation.
The maintenance is scheduled from Tuesday, March 19 to Wednesday, March 20 from 10 am to 3 pm each day.
As a result, Abuja DisCo will be unable to supply power to customers in Okene, Kabba, Ososo, and Ikare during this period.
“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 stated that TCN has commissioned a 100MVA 132/33kV power transformer at its Port Harcourt Main Transmission Substation, boosting the substation’s bulk transmission capability by 80MW.
This collaborative initiative with the World Bank also involves the comprehensive rehabilitation and expansion of the 132/33kV transmission substation, along with 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.
TheNewDiplomat recalls that last week, the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, had a meeting with management of the AEDC regarding the declining power supply within its area.
Also, Adelabu summoned the Managing Director of the TCN, Mr. Sule Abdulazeez, to address the deteriorating power situation nationwide since January.
Despite this, both the DisCos and TCN have consistently attributed the low power supply to issues such as gas shortages, vandalism, energy theft, and other factors.
