AN explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation on Friday night disrupted electricity supply to several parts of Enugu metropolis, leaving communities served by the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders without power.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Head of Communications at MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited, Emeka Ezeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, attributing the widespread outage to damage caused by the explosion at the facility.
Ezeh said the company was aware of the inconvenience caused by the incident and assured customers that its technical team had commenced efforts to assess the extent of the damage and restore electricity supply.
“MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited wishes to inform its esteemed customers served by the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders that the ongoing power outage is due to an explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation,” he said.
“The incident occurred today, Friday, July 17, 2026, at about 7:30 p.m. and affected the indoor 11kV breaker at the injection substation.”
According to the electricity distribution company, the explosion affected the indoor 11kV breaker at the substation, resulting in the interruption of supply to several residential and commercial areas across Enugu metropolis.
MainPower listed communities affected on the Army 11kV feeder to include Army Barracks, One Day Road, Meniru, Upper Meniru and Joe Continental.
Areas supplied by the Gariki 11kV feeder were also affected, including Gariki Market, Mayor Market, Roban Stores on Agbani Road, Crunchies, Mobile Police Barracks, Amechi Road, Upper Mount, Ikiriki, Emeka Ebila, Ozalla Street, Egbonnaji, Nnaji Ogbodo, Idaw River, Igbariam Street, Liberation, Mount, Umuchu, Achina, Vance, Unubi, Enugu Agidi, Amawbia, Amokwe, Kenneth, Amah and Hill Crest.
The company said its technical personnel had immediately commenced inspection of the damaged equipment to determine the repairs required and accelerate the restoration process.
“Our technical team has commenced assessment of the damaged equipment and restoration work is ongoing,” Ezeh stated.
He apologised to customers affected by the outage and appealed for patience as the company worked to resolve the challenge.
“MainPower regrets the inconvenience caused by this development and appreciates the understanding and patience of its customers as restoration efforts continue,” he added.
The latest disruption comes months after the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission downgraded some of MainPower’s feeders following an assessment that showed they failed to meet the minimum daily electricity supply requirements for certain categories of customers.
MainPower assumed responsibility for electricity distribution in Enugu State following the unbundling of the operations of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company as part of the state’s electricity market reforms.
The company has continued to manage electricity distribution within the state under the new regulatory framework aimed at improving power supply reliability and accountability.