Why Some States Are Suffering Power Supply Outages -KEDCO

Dependence on only two major transmission routes has accounted to power supply outages afflicting a number of states in the recent.

It has accounted to why the electricity supply network to Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, and surrounding areas particularly has become highly vulnerable to faults.

These submissions were made by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company, in a statement by the company’s Head, Corporate Communications, Sani Bala Sani today.

In the statement, it expressed concern over the persistent challenges affecting electricity supply from the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the national grid to Northwestern states.

Also, it appealed to the Federal Government to urgently direct TCN to prioritise critical transmission projects and maintenance to contain power supply outages across the region.

“KEDCO noted that its network currently depends on only two major transmission routes for power supply into the Kano Complex, through Kaduna and Jos.

“This limited transmission redundancy has significantly constrained the reliability and stability of electricity supply to Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, and surrounding areas, leaving the network highly vulnerable to outages whenever faults occur on either route,” the statement said.

Making a case for increased investment to strengthen infrastructure, expand transmission capacity, and build redundancy into the network to reduce system vulnerability and ensure more consistent power delivery, it added:

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“These improvements will address longstanding limitations within the transmission network that continue to impact distribution efficiency and service reliability”, the statement read.

It said that in recent weeks, scheduled maintenance and service interventions on the transmission network, especially those involving the installation of Optical Ground Wire along the transmission line routes, has resulted in recurring power supply outages and weekend downtimes.

“These situations remain detrimental to both industrial productivity and the welfare of citizens across the Northwestern states and the KEDCO franchise area, in particular,” it said.

According to it, the Federal Government should direct the TCN to urgently improve transmission service delivery and accelerate ongoing maintenance and upgrade projects.

KEDCO noted that improved transmission stability is critical to sustaining economic activities and ensuring reliable electricity for homes and businesses.

Thanking the Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa state governments for their increased investment in power infrastructure, particularly in generation projects, KEDCO added:

“Ongoing projects include the 20MW hybridisation project at Lambar Rimi, in Katsina State, a planned 10MW project in Gagarawa, Jigawa State, as well as the connection of the 16MW Tiga and Challawa Dams (combined) in Kano State.

“KEDCO is also partnering with investors to develop a Gas power plant in Tamburawa alongside the AKK pipeline timeline,” the statement added.