Blackout in 17 northern states will end by November 12 – FG

The Federal Government promised on Tuesday to speed up efforts to restore power to Northern Nigeria after widespread blackouts.

Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu told senators at the National Assembly that full power would return to the region within 14 days, meaning the 17 affected states will remain without electricity until Tuesday, November 12, 2024. He added that partial power restoration would happen within three days.

“We are working with security agencies to access the gridwould currently occupied by vandals. “I assure you that within the next 14 days, the repairs will be completed, and power will be fully restored to the North,” Adelabu stated.

However, this timeline differs from what the agency responsible for repairs had previously stated.

Earlier in the day, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, gave a five-day timeline to complete the job (November 3, 2024).

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It noted, however, that it had implemented alternative measures to transmit 400 megawatts to certain areas within the next 24 hours.

The power crisis has become so serious that on Monday, governors from all 19 northern states called for different energy sources after recent blackouts affected 17 states in their region.

Currently, all northern states except Niger and Kwara have been without power for two weeks. The hardest-hit states are Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Gombe, and Katsina, which have experienced complete blackouts.

The blackouts also affect Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Benue.

The power outage across northern Nigeria started when vandals damaged the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, which is the main power supply line to the north.