PARTS of Lagos and Osun states have been plunged into fresh blackouts following separate disruptions to electricity infrastructure, with the failure of two major transmission lines reducing power supply in Lagos and flooding damaging critical distribution facilities in parts of Osun.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) attributed the reduced electricity supply in Lagos to the outage of the Oshogbo-Ikeja 330kV transmission line and the Benin-Egbin 330kV transmission line, while the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) blamed flooding at the Ilerin Injection Substation for outages affecting several communities in Osun State.
In a notice issued on Sunday, EKEDC announced that electricity allocation to its network had dropped significantly, forcing the company to implement load shedding across some of its business units.
The Disco stated: “Some business units may experience load shedding. Cause: Grid Disruption. Osogbo/Ikeja 330kV line down. The Benin/Egbin 330kV line is down. Impact: Reduction in grid allocation.”
The company assured customers that it was working closely with the national grid operator to restore normal electricity supply as soon as the affected transmission lines return to service.
“We are in constant contact with the national grid operator and will restore supply as soon as the lines are back. Thank you for your patience,” the company said.
Although EKEDC did not indicate when the transmission lines would be restored, it said it was engaging the relevant authorities to normalise electricity supply as quickly as possible.
The latest transmission failures occurred barely a week after the Transmission Company of Nigeria declared force majeure on its Oworonshoki 132/33kV and Lekki 330/132kV transmission substations following severe flooding at the facilities.
The flooding has continued to disrupt electricity supply to several parts of Lagos, with EKEDC earlier warning that restoration of power would depend on the availability of the affected transmission infrastructure.
Communities affected by the disruption include Chevy View Estate, Chevron Drive, Agungi Area, Alpha Beach, Ikate, Elegushi Area, Carlton Gate, Kusenla, Victory Park Estate, Oniru, Maroko, Muri Okunola, Ajose Adeogun, Ligali Ayorinde and parts of Aboyade Cole.
Other affected locations are Morinho Drive, Landmark Road, Igbo Efon, Lekki Tollgate 2 Area, Igbokusu, Gbangbala, Platinum Way, Jakande/Coastal Road, OADC/Mayegun Area, Ajiran environs, Chevron Alternative Area and Osapa London Area.
As of the time of filing this report, residents in several parts of Lagos, including Lekki, Agbara and Festac, said they had been experiencing prolonged power outages and appealed for urgent restoration of electricity.
A resident of Festac, Isi Okwuadi, lamented the situation, saying, “What is the update on this current power outage, please? Complete blackout for four days running, on 21 Road, Festac. Please give us power to at least pump water.”
Responding to the complaint, EKEDC explained that the area was among those affected by the reduction in grid allocation.
“Your area is currently experiencing reduced power supply due to a reduction in grid allocation. We are working to restore full supply and will update you as soon as this improves,” the company said.
Meanwhile, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company announced that flooding triggered by a heavy windstorm at the Ilerin Injection Substation had disrupted electricity supply to several communities in Osun State.
According to IBEDC, the flooding affected the Isare 11kV, Irogbo 11kV and Mount Carmel 11kV feeders, resulting in outages in Ifewara, Iwara, Bolorunduro, Irogbo, Ayeso, Odo-Oro, Wesley, Express Area, Ilerin, Irojo, Olomilagbala, Iwikun, Isare and neighbouring communities.
The company assured residents that engineers were already working to restore electricity to the affected areas.
“Our technical team is working to ensure power supply is restored. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,” IBEDC said.