TCN SCHEDULES THREE-HOUR BLACKOUT IN ABUJA COMMUNITIES FOR URGENT MAINTENANCE

Residents and businesses in parts of Abuja are expected to experience a temporary electricity interruption on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, following a maintenance exercise announced by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

The TCN said the planned disruption is necessary to enable its technical team to carry out urgent maintenance work at the 330/132kV Gwagwalada Transmission Substation. The exercise is scheduled to last for three hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

According to the transmission company, engineers will work on the substation’s 33kV, 6MVA earthing reactor during the exercise. The maintenance is aimed at addressing an urgent requirement at the facility and ensuring the continued reliability of the transmission infrastructure.

TCN explained that the maintenance work would temporarily prevent the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company from taking electricity from the substation for onward distribution to customers connected to the affected network.

Several communities and important locations within the Federal Capital Territory are expected to be affected by the temporary interruption. They include Aso Villa, Asokoro, African Medical Centre, Kabusa, EFAB Estate, Apo Resettlement, Zone E Extension and Trademoore, as well as adjoining communities.

The planned outage could affect residential consumers, businesses and institutions operating within the affected areas during the three-hour maintenance window. Residents and operators who rely heavily on electricity for their daily activities are therefore expected to make alternative arrangements for the period of the disruption.

The transmission company apologised to consumers who would be affected by the temporary loss of electricity, stressing that the exercise was required to address urgent maintenance needs at the Gwagwalada transmission facility.

TCN's latest announcement comes amid continuing efforts by the company to maintain and upgrade Nigeria's electricity transmission infrastructure. Maintenance activities at transmission substations are intended to reduce the risk of equipment failure and improve the reliability of electricity supplied through the national grid.

Electricity supply is expected to resume after the maintenance work is completed, subject to the successful execution of the exercise and the availability of the distribution network.

The affected residents are therefore advised to take note of the 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. window and plan accordingly while the maintenance work is being carried out.