TCN tackles Kaduna Electric, EKEDC over outage claims

Transmission firm says all 330kV lines supplying Jos are operational, blames EKEDC feeders for Lagos fault." TCN management 

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has faulted the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company and Eko Electricity Distribution Company over separate claims linking disruptions in electricity supply in Jos and Lagos to faults on TCN facilities.

TCN, in two separate statements issued on Wednesday and Thursday, described the claims as misleading, insisting that its transmission infrastructure in the affected areas was either fully operational or that the incidents were triggered by faults originating from the respective distribution companies’ networks.

Reacting to a statement issued by Kaduna Electric on August 26 alleging transmission constraints affecting power supply to Jos and its environs, TCN said all 330kV transmission lines connected to Jos were in service and transmitting bulk electricity.

The transmission company said the only incident recorded on the Jos network occurred at about 3:30am on August 23, when the Jos-Lafia 330kV Line 2 circuit breaker was opened for voltage control.

It explained that the action was a routine operational measure to maintain grid stability and did not constitute an outage.

According to TCN, the line was restored at 11:59am on August 24 and had remained in service.

“There has been no outage or disruption of bulk electricity transmission on any 330kV line supplying Jos attributable to TCN since that restoration,” the company said.

TCN described Kaduna Electric’s claim as “false and a deliberate misrepresentation of facts,” urging the DisCo and other stakeholders to verify technical information with the transmission company before making public statements.

It said inaccurate information could mislead electricity consumers and create unnecessary anxiety.

In Lagos, TCN also rejected a claim by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company concerning an incident at the Lekki Transmission Substation on August 26.

EKEDC had attributed the disruption to an unexpected trip of TCN’s T11 transformer, which it said was awaiting inspection.

But TCN gave a different account, saying the incident began with the simultaneous tripping of EKEDC’s Oniru and Agungi 33kV feeders at about 4:34am due to overcurrent and earth fault.

The fault, it said, subsequently caused the inter-tripping of TCN’s TR1 60MVA, 132/33kV transformer primary and secondary breakers, accompanied by a heavy bang and smoke.

TCN said its maintenance crew responded promptly, rehabilitated the damaged secondary breaker and restored both the primary and secondary breakers later that day.

It, however, said another trip occurred when EKEDC attempted a trial closure of its Oniru feeder, following the recurrence of the same relay indications.

The development, according to TCN, necessitated further corrective work.

The transmission company stressed that “no outage occurred on TCN’s T11 transformer” as claimed by EKEDC, maintaining that the incident was strictly related to the DisCo’s Oniru and Agungi 33kV feeders.

TCN said its technical team remained on site and was working to restore electricity supply within the shortest possible time.

The company assured affected consumers that it was committed to improving the reliability of the transmission network and working with electricity distribution companies to ensure stable power supply nationwide.

It also appealed to electricity consumers in Jos and Lagos to disregard what it described as misleading information regarding the two incidents.