Residents in parts of Abuja woke up to yet another electricity headache on Wednesday after the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed a fresh power outage affecting several neighborhoods in the Federal Capital Territory.
In a notice issued on Wednesday, TCN disclosed that a 100 MVA power transformer, known as TR4, tripped in the early hours of the day at the Apo 132 kV/33 kV Transmission Substation. The company said the incident has left thousands of homes and businesses without electricity, reigniting frustrations over Nigeria’s fragile power grid.
According to TCN, the trouble started when oil began leaking from the red-phase high-voltage bushing of the transformer. That leakage, the company explained, triggered the automatic tripping mechanism, a safety feature designed to prevent further damage to the equipment.
The fault didn’t stop at the substation. Four 33 kV feeders connected to the transformer, H31, H33, H35, and H37, were affected, cutting supply to a wide stretch of the capital.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby informs the public that the 100 MVA TR4 transformer at the 132/33 kV Apo Transmission Substation tripped in the early hours of today,” the company stated.
TCN added that its technical team has since moved in to get to the root of the problem. “Our maintenance crew is already carrying out a detailed investigation of the transformer to ascertain the exact cause of the tripping to enable us to effect repairs and restore the transformer,” the statement read.
Following the development, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed that the Abuja Power Outage has hit several areas within the city, including Apo Legislative Quarters, Lokogoma, and Apo Resettlement, among other communities within the FCT.
As of the time of this report, no timeline has been given for when power will be fully restored, leaving many residents to rely on generators and inverters to keep their homes and businesses running.
TCN has assured that updates will follow once repair works are concluded and normal supply resumes to the affected feeders.
Behind Abuja Power Outage: A Grid Under Constant Strain
This latest outage is far from an isolated case. Abuja and other parts of the country have suffered repeated transmission failures in recent months, from transformer trips to system collapses, exposing just how fragile Nigeria’s aging power infrastructure has become.
The Apo Substation, which feeds a significant chunk of the capital, including legislative and residential districts, has had its fair share of technical issues in the past, often linked to equipment wear, oil-related faults, or overloading during peak demand.
For residents, these recurring outages have become an all-too-familiar routine: sudden blackouts, days of uncertainty, and a growing reliance on alternative power sources just to keep daily life running. It’s a situation that continues to fuel public calls on the federal government and power sector stakeholders to fast-track investment in upgrading transmission equipment nationwide before the next transformer decides to give way.
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