The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has commenced the reconstruction of three collapsed towers along the 330kV Kainji–Birnin Kebbi transmission line.
This development was announced in a statement issued on Saturday by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah.
According to Mbah, TCN has mobilized three separate contractors to the site, each assigned to rebuild one of the fallen towers. This strategy, she said, is intended to accelerate the repair process and ensure the prompt restoration of power transmission.
“To mitigate the impact of the outage on Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (Kaduna Electric) and its customers, alternative supply routes have been activated,” Mbah explained.
She added that Sokoto and Birnin Kebbi are currently receiving between 6MW and 7MW of bulk power through an alternate 132kV line: the Mando-Zaria-Funtua-Gusau-Talata Mafara-Sokoto-Birnin Kebbi line, fed from the Mando Transmission Substation.
“TCN appreciates the patience and understanding of the affected communities as contractors work assiduously alongside our supervising engineers to rebuild the towers and restring the 330kV line,” she said.
“We regret the inconvenience caused and remain committed to restoring full supply as quickly as possible.”
The company reaffirmed its commitment to the integrity and reliability of Nigeria’s power transmission infrastructure.
Background
On Thursday, May 8, 2025, residents of Kebbi and Kaduna States and surrounding areas experienced a major power outage following the tripping of the 330kV Kainji–Birnin Kebbi transmission line. The outage caused significant disruption to the electricity supply across the region.
- Kaduna Electric confirmed the incident in a statement signed by Abdulaziz Abdullahi, Head of Corporate Communication, and shared on the company’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
- The statement read: “Outage on 330kV Kainji–Birnin Kebbi Line: We sincerely wish to apologize to our esteemed customers in Birnin Kebbi for the outage currently being experienced. The outage is due to the collapse of three transmission towers near Yauri town.
“The TCN team is working diligently to rectify the issue. Normal power supply will be restored as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”
- This latest incident adds to a series of disruptions along the 330kV Kainji–Birnin Kebbi transmission corridor, which has experienced multiple unexpected trips since 2024.
On February 18, 2024, a sudden power surge caused the line to trip, leading to temporary outages across the affected areas.
Again, on May 26, 2024, severe weather conditions triggered another tripping event, prompting extensive repair efforts by maintenance teams.
Subsequently, on July 9, 2024, a mechanical fault necessitated a brief shutdown of the line to ensure operational safety and system integrity.
