The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has declared force majeure on the 132kV Birnin Kebbi–Niamey transmission line following the collapse of three transmission towers.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at about 5:38 p.m., when the transmission line tripped. TCN said a trial reclosure was carried out at 6:03 p.m., but the line tripped again immediately.

A subsequent fault-finding patrol by TCN linesmen discovered that towers T109, T110 and T111 had collapsed at Chibike Village.

The company attributed the collapse to heavy rainfall and strong winds experienced in the area.

TCN said the damage had affected bulk power transmission to Niamey through the affected line, disrupting electricity supply to customers in the Nigerien capital.

The transmission company said it had immediately mobilised personnel and resources to the affected location to begin rehabilitation work.

It assured that all necessary resources would be deployed to facilitate the speedy reconstruction of the collapsed towers and restore the transmission line as soon as possible.

TCN expressed regret over the disruption caused to electricity consumers in Niamey and assured them that efforts were underway to restore normal power transmission promptly.

The development highlights the vulnerability of critical electricity infrastructure to severe weather conditions, with transmission lines requiring urgent repairs whenever towers are damaged or collapsed.

TCN said it would continue working to restore the Birnin Kebbi–Niamey line and minimise the impact of the disruption on electricity supply to affected customers.