The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has declared force majeure on the Ikeja West – Osogbo 330kV transmission line following a severe rainstorm on Thursday, 16 April 2026.

The line tripped during the storm due to a fault detected approximately 14.9km from the Ikeja West (Ayobo) end of the transmission line.

In a statement, TCN said that further inspection by maintenance crews revealed that Tower No. 515 had collapsed during the storm, with the structure giving way at its midsection.

According to the General Manager, Public Affairs, of the company, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, engineers are currently working to dismantle the affected tower while TCN mobilises materials and personnel for its re-erection.

“We assure that we will work assiduously to restore flexibility and redundancy in that corridor as an alternative line is still in service evacuating bulk power. Updates will be provided as work progresses,” Mbah said.

In another development, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), Engineer Abdu Mohammed Bello, said that NISO recorded over 10 per cent in losses, amounting to N8 billion in a month, in cases relating to the wanton destruction of transmission lines.

Bello stated that the agency has successfully reduced these losses to 7.05 per cent. However, the organisation is working hard to reduce the figure further to five or six per cent.

“One of the greatest problems we encountered at the inception of NISO is that we recorded a very high transmission loss factor.

“At some point, it was close to 10 per cent, costing about N5 billion to N8 billion in a month.

“We are working earnestly and we have reduced it to 7.05 at the moment. And we are working to also reduce it further to five or six per cent so that we will meet the target. These interventions are contributing to improved system discipline and reliability together.

“On electricity market development and strengthening, we have made deliberate efforts to strengthen market credibility and transparency. And over the past one year, we have enhanced monitoring and enforced compliance with the market rules, grid code, and metering standards. We have also improved co-ordination among market participants to support orderly market operations,” he said.

The MD/CEO stated that the agency has strengthened data transparency to support informed decision-making in the market space.

“We have initiated upgrades to market management systems to enable real-time operations, efficient settlement, and improved analytics. We have strengthened data transparency to support informed decision-making in the market space. We have also supported and we are also supporting the development and co-ordination of emerging state electricity markets in alignment with the national objectives.

“You will agree with us that we have achieved a milestone in the power sector where the state electricity markets are emerging. The states can now establish their own electricity markets and regulate them within their own states. However, there is an interface between the state electricity market and the whole state electricity market.

“We have also completed and submitted the adapted revised transmission expansion plan. This is very important in a way that we developed our electricity system, especially the transmission system. However, the transmission development plan is not being properly co-ordinated or properly planned,” he said. (The Sun)

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