Blackout in parts of Calabar as fire guts power substation

A major electricity facility of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) located in Tinapa, Cross River state has been burnt down.

The incident was said to have happened on Saturday, leading to the destruction of the 330/132/33 Mbh power substation in Tinapa, Adiabo area of the state.

Major areas affected are Atimbo in Calabar Municipality, State Housing Estate, and IBB Way.

The fire, which started while work on one of the transformers was ongoing, took several hours to put out.

John Okon, a resident in the area, said an explosion was first heard, followed by a huge fire engulfing the station.

“We just heard the sound and saw fire; we all ran out and many people were shouting but we could do nothing; we don’t know what caused the fire,” he said.

Another resident who pleaded anonymity, however, said no life was lost in the incident.

“They were actually working on the transformer when it caught fire and thank God nobody died or got injured in the process,” he said.

Commenting on the incident, Collins Igwe, regional manager, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), expressed shock and said he would visit the facility to assess the extent of the damage.

“I have heard about the fire outbreak. It is shocking, nobody is sure about the cause,” he said.

“I am on my way to assess the extent of damage; we will look at how soon we can restore power to the parts of town affected.”

Meanwhile, in a tweet on Sunday, TCN apologised to the public for the inconvenience and assured a quick restoration of electricity.

It said its engineers are working assiduously to restore power supply to residents in Calabar by Monday.

“TCN apologises for every inconvenience to the government and electricity customers in Cross River state and pledges to do all it can to ensure quick restoration of bulk supply to the area,” it tweeted.

“Presently, TCN engineers are replacing the affected equipment so as to ensure the restoration of power to affected areas.

“Supply will be restored as soon as equipment affected by the incident is replaced, most likely, by tomorrow evening, September 5th, 2022.”