Seven North-East States to Face Weeks of Power Disruption – NISO

Electricity consumers in Plateau, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, and Yobe states are set to experience weeks of disrupted power supply following a scheduled outage on the Jos–Gombe 330kV transmission line.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) announced in a public notice issued on Thursday that the outage would run from April 9 to May 22, 2026, occurring weekly from Thursday to Sunday between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

According to the agency, the disruption is necessary to facilitate the installation of Optical Ground Wire fibre optic infrastructure along the Jos–Gombe transmission corridor. The upgrade is part of ongoing efforts to modernise the national grid through improved Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Energy Management Systems (EMS), and telecommunications capabilities.

The system operator explained that the project is expected to strengthen real-time monitoring, fault detection, load balancing, and overall energy delivery across the region.

Despite assurances of alternative supply arrangements, NISO warned that consumers in the affected states should expect reduced power availability during the outage windows.

“During the outage period, supply to the affected areas will be maintained through available 132kV transmission lines. However, due to inherent network constraints and limited capacity on these lines, customers may experience reduced power supply and service limitations within the stated outage window,” the notice read.

The development highlights ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s power transmission network, where redundancy and capacity limitations often lead to supply disruptions whenever major infrastructure upgrades are undertaken. However, the system operator insisted that the temporary inconvenience would deliver long-term benefits, particularly in improving grid intelligence and operational efficiency.

NISO disclosed that it is working closely with distribution companies and other sector players to minimise the impact on consumers. These include the Jos and Yola Distribution Companies, as well as the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

“Every effort is being made to ensure that outages across feeders, distribution substations, and customer clusters are managed within the stipulated timeframe,” the agency stated.

Upon completion, the project is expected to significantly improve electricity reliability in the region by enabling faster fault detection, better load management, and enhanced coordination across the grid.

The operator listed the expected gains to include improved quality and reliability of electricity supply, faster restoration following faults, stronger system stability, reduced disturbances, better integration of generation and load data, and a strengthened telecommunications backbone for power system operations.

While apologising for the inconvenience, the system operator appealed for public understanding.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to deliver a more reliable and efficient power supply to the affected states,” the notice concluded.