The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Osogbo region, has declared force majeure on its Offa 132kV transmission substation following a robbery incident at the facility.
The TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, in a statement on Saturday, said the station was invaded by heavily armed men who forcefully gained access to the control room and held all personnel on duty hostage at gunpoint.
Force majeure is a provision that relieves companies from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise.
Ms Mbah said the attackers ordered the operator on duty to open both the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders at exactly 12:45 a.m. on Thursday, 7th May.
She said they further demanded a total shutdown of the substation.
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During the incident, she said control switches and relay buttons were tampered with, and the 40MVA transformer was opened at approximately 1:07 a.m.
After the operation, she added that the 40MVA transformer was restored at 1:13 a.m., the Offa 33kV feeder was restored at 1:14 a.m., and the Ojoku 33kV feeder was restored at 2:15 a.m.
“TCN regrets the inconvenience this incident may have caused and reaffirms its mandate to transmit bulk electricity efficiently to distribution companies’ load centres across the country,” the statement said.
