By Hosea Parah, Abuja
Residents across seven northern states of Nigeria are set to experience periodic power disruptions following a planned outage announced by the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
According to the notice, the outage will impact parts of Plateau, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, and Yobe states. The disruption is scheduled to run from April 9 to May 22, 2026, occurring weekly from Thursday through Sunday between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
The planned interruption is to allow for the installation of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) fibre optic infrastructure along the Jos–Gombe 330kV transmission line. NISO explained that the upgrade is part of broader efforts to modernize Nigeria’s power grid and improve system efficiency through enhanced telecommunications and monitoring capabilities.
The project will support advanced technologies such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Energy Management Systems (EMS), which are expected to significantly improve real-time grid monitoring, fault detection, and load balancing.
Despite the outage, NISO assured customers that electricity supply would still be maintained through alternative 132kV transmission lines. However, it warned that these lines have limited capacity, meaning consumers may experience reduced power supply and intermittent service during the outage periods.
The system operator noted that it is working closely with key stakeholders, including regional distribution companies and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to manage the impact and ensure disruptions are kept within the scheduled timeframe.
NISO emphasized that upon completion, the infrastructure upgrade will deliver long-term benefits, including improved reliability of electricity supply, faster fault response times, enhanced grid stability, and better integration of generation and distribution data.
The agency apologized for the inconvenience caused and urged customers in the affected states to cooperate as efforts continue to strengthen Nigeria’s power transmission network.