BREAKING: TCN DECLARES FORCE MAJEURE AS RAINSTORM COLLAPSES KEY LAGOS–OSUN POWER TOWER

OGUN STATE APPROVES ₦10,000 WORKER ALLOWANCE AND A WEEKLY DAY OFF

Ikeja West–Osogbo 330kV line down; SMEs across South-West face renewed grid disruption

The Transmission Company of Nigeria declared force majeure on the Ikeja West–Osogbo 330kV transmission line Sunday, after a severe rainstorm brought down a critical grid tower last Thursday, cutting a major bulk electricity corridor linking Lagos to the South-West.

TCN confirmed that Tower No. 515 collapsed during the storm on April 16, with the structure failing at its midsection approximately 14.9 kilometres from the Ikeja West end of the line. Engineers are working to dismantle the damaged tower while materials and personnel are being mobilised for its reconstruction, the company said in a statement signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah.

The Ikeja West–Osogbo line is one of the major transmission corridors responsible for evacuating bulk electricity across parts of the South-West. TCN said an alternative line remains in service, but acknowledged that the collapsed corridor will affect grid redundancy until repairs are completed.

By invoking force majeure, TCN formally signals that the incident falls outside its contractual obligations, meaning affected distribution companies and their customers have no legal recourse against the transmission company during the outage.

The TCN simultaneously announced a positive development: the energisation of two new 60MVA transformers at the Apapa Road Transmission Substation in Lagos, funded by JICA, increasing that substation's capacity from 60MVA to 180MVA, with benefits expected for Apapa, Ajegunle, Tin Can Island and nearby areas.

No timeline for the restoration of the collapsed line has been confirmed.