By Ayo Kehinde
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has declared force majeure on the Oworonshoki 132/33kV and Lekki 330/132kV transmission substations following severe flooding caused by persistent rainfall in Lagos, warning that the development could disrupt electricity supply to customers served by the affected transmission facilities.
The declaration followed the inundation of critical infrastructure at the two substations, with floodwaters crippling operations at the Oworonshoki Transmission Substation and posing a serious threat to the Lekki Transmission Substation.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, TCN said the Oworonshoki substation had been forced out of service after rising floodwaters affected two of its power transformers, while emergency efforts were ongoing to keep the Lekki facility operational.
According to the company, the affected transformers at Oworonshoki—TR1 (60MVA) and TR3 (30MVA)—tripped on no-load and could not be restored despite repeated attempts by engineers.
TCN explained that all protection and control cables connected to the two transformers had been completely submerged, making it impossible to conduct the necessary integrity tests or restore the equipment while the flooding persists.
“Presently, all power protection and control cables of the two power transformers are submerged in water, and efforts to evacuate the water have proved ineffective because the rainfall has continued”, the statement said.
The company, however, noted that the Lekki 330/132kV Transmission Substation remained in service, with engineers continuously pumping out floodwater to prevent the facility from suffering a similar shutdown.
It said the declaration of force majeure became inevitable because the flooding constituted an extraordinary circumstance beyond the company’s control, temporarily preventing normal operations at the affected transmission assets.
TCN disclosed that its engineers are working round the clock to evacuate floodwater from the Oworonshoki substation and restore the affected transformers once the site becomes safe for testing and recommissioning.
The disruption is expected to impact electricity supply to customers of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DisCo) who receive power through the Oworonshoki transmission network, although the company did not indicate the number of feeders or consumers likely to be affected.
While apologising for the inconvenience, TCN assured electricity consumers that every available resource was being deployed to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
