Power restored to Lagos, Ogun, four others after 800MW loss-FG
The Federal Government (FG) has restored electricity supply to several parts of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Kwara states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, following the repair of a vandalised 330-kilovolt transmission line that contributed to a loss of almost 800 megawatts from the Lagos electricity supply system.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Monday, saying the damaged Benin-Egbin transmission line had been repaired and returned to service.
He said the restoration had raised electricity supply to the Lagos Complex to more than 1,000MW, effectively returning the network to its pre-disruption level.
The development offers relief to households and businesses that experienced prolonged outages in recent days amid constraints affecting electricity generation and transmission.
Tegbe said the government was still working to restore full electricity supply to other affected locations, while coordinating with generation companies, the system operator, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and electricity distribution companies.
He said, “I would like to report that power has since been restored to many of the areas earlier affected by power disruptions, largely in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and the FCT. Our teams continue to work to restore full supply to the remaining affected locations.
“The vandalised Benin-Egbin 330kV power line has also been swiftly repaired and deployed to transmit power. This restoration helped to bring the total power supply to the Lagos Complex to over 1,000 megawatts, effectively normalising to the condition before the disruption.”
The minister had earlier attributed the decline in electricity supply to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, inadequate gas supply to some thermal power plants and damage to critical transmission infrastructure.
He explained that the combined constraints reduced electricity available on the national grid, forcing operators to implement load shedding in affected areas.
The disruption was compounded by the vandalism of transmission lines, which restricted alternative routes for delivering electricity to Lagos.
However, Tegbe disclosed that the government was also working to restore the Osogbo-Ikeja West 330kV transmission line, which has remained out of service for about 18 months.
According to him, the line could deliver an additional 400MW to Lagos, but its restoration had been delayed by the vandalism of about six transmission towers located in a swampy area.
He said the TCN had committed to completing the restoration by the end of November.
Tegbe added that Lagos had four major transmission lines, but only three were operational, leaving the electricity network vulnerable whenever one of its major supply routes experienced disruption.
The minister had also disclosed that the combined impact of maintenance at Egbin Power Station and the vandalised Benin-Egbin line resulted in the loss of almost 800MW from the Lagos electricity supply system.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Independent System Operator attributed the broader decline in electricity generation to gas supply constraints affecting thermal power stations and reduced water inflows into hydroelectric reservoirs.
The operator said the constraints had reduced electricity allocations to distribution companies, resulting in shorter supply hours and increased load shedding across their networks.
Electricity distribution companies received a combined 2,988MW from the 3,840MW generated on the national grid on Wednesday, November 4.
Despite the latest restoration, concerns remain over the reliability of Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure, with consumers continuing to contend with inadequate generation, gas shortages, transmission bottlenecks and distribution challenges.
Civil society organisations and electricity consumers have also criticised the government’s handling of the power crisis, with some calling for the minister’s resignation over persistent outages.
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