The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has declared force majeure on the Ikeja West–Osogbo 330kV transmission line following a severe rainstorm that caused the collapse of a critical tower, disrupting electricity supply across parts of South-West Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, the company said the incident occurred on Thursday, April 16, after the line tripped due to a fault traced to a section approximately 14.9 kilometres from the Ikeja West end.
According to TCN, further inspection revealed that Tower 515 along the transmission route suffered structural failure during the storm, collapsing at its midsection.
The company said engineers have begun dismantling the damaged structure while mobilising materials and personnel for its reconstruction.
The Ikeja West–Osogbo line is a major transmission corridor linking Lagos to other parts of the South-West, making it critical to the stability of electricity supply in the region.
TCN noted that emergency measures have been activated to reduce the impact of the disruption, including rerouting bulk power through alternative transmission lines still in service.
The declaration of force majeure indicates that the outage was caused by circumstances beyond the company’s control, in this case, extreme weather conditions.
The development has once again highlighted concerns over the vulnerability of Nigeria’s ageing power infrastructure to severe weather events, as stakeholders continue to call for greater investment in more resilient transmission systems.
