The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a forced outage on the Alaoji 132kV Transmission Line, which occurred at approximately 3:59 am on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, cutting off electricity supply to customers in Owerri, Yenagoa, and Ahoada. The announcement was made via TCN's official X account on Wednesday, June 23, 2026. Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, attributed the outage to an earth fault and distance protection failure on the line.
Affected Areas and Distribution Impact
As a result of the disruption, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has been unable to off-take electricity supply for distribution to its customers across the three affected areas — Owerri in Imo State, Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, and Ahoada in Rivers State. These states are located in Nigeria's South-South and South-East geopolitical zones, which have historically experienced significant power supply instability linked to both infrastructure damage and transmission faults.
TCN Crew Working to Restore Supply
TCN said its maintenance crew had already been deployed to address the fault. 'TCN's maintenance crew have since swung into action and is currently working on the line to ensure that normal bulk power supply is restored as quickly as possible,' Mbah stated in the official notice posted on X. The company apologised to affected electricity customers for any inconvenience caused by the outage.
Power Outages Remain a Persistent Challenge in Nigeria
The disruption adds to the ongoing electricity supply challenges facing several Nigerian states. Power infrastructure across the country has faced repeated setbacks, including vandalism of transmission and distribution equipment, which has contributed to prolonged outages in many communities. Nigeria loses between N5 billion and N8 billion every month due to transmission inefficiencies, according to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), Abdu Bello. Bello disclosed this during NISO’s first anniversary event held in Utako, Abuja, where he outlined key reforms and operational progress recorded since the agency was established. Bello stated that the operator inherited significant transmission losses at inception, with the loss factor nearing 10 per cent, resulting in substantial financial setbacks for the sector.
