TCN Declares Force Majeure on Nigeria–Niger Power Link After Three Towers Collapse

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has declared force majeure on the 132kV Birnin Kebbi–Niamey transmission line after three electricity transmission towers collapsed during a severe rainstorm and windstorm in Kebbi State.

The collapse has disrupted the transmission of bulk electricity from Nigeria to Niamey, Niger Republic, through the affected line.

TCN, in a statement issued by its management on Friday, said the Birnin Kebbi–Niamey line tripped at 5:38pm on August 26, 2026.

According to the company, a trial reclosure was carried out at 6:03pm, but the line tripped again immediately.

Following the repeated trip, TCN linesmen embarked on a fault-finding patrol to determine the cause of the outage.

The patrol team discovered that transmission towers T109, T110 and T111 had collapsed at Chibike village.

TCN said the towers were brought down by heavy rainfall and strong winds experienced in the area.

The company said the incident had affected bulk power transmission to Niamey and subsequently triggered the force majeure declaration on the transmission route.

Rehabilitation begins

TCN said it had immediately mobilised personnel and resources to the affected location to commence rehabilitation work.

The company said it was deploying all necessary resources to ensure the collapsed towers were rebuilt and the transmission line returned to service as quickly as possible.

“TCN has mobilized personnel and resources to the site and will ensure that all hands are on deck to facilitate the speedy rehabilitation of the collapsed towers and return the line to service in the shortest possible time,” the statement said.

The transmission company expressed regret over the disruption and inconvenience caused to electricity customers in Niamey.

It assured the affected customers that every effort was being made to restore normal electricity transmission promptly.

The Birnin Kebbi–Niamey transmission line is part of the electricity infrastructure linking Nigeria’s power system with Niger Republic, making its disruption significant to cross-border electricity supply.