Fire Incident at Egbin Power Plant Damages TCN Transformer, Causes Power Supply Disruption in Lagos
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The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed that a fire outbreak at the Egbin Power Plant in the early hours of Monday, August 5, 2025, resulted in significant damage to one of its critical power transformers, affecting power supply to several parts of Lagos and Ogun states.
According to a statement issued by Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, the fire, which began at approximately 6:30 a.m., originated from a faulty service transformer owned by Egbin Power Plc. The transformer, connected to the 33kV side of TCN’s 150MVA 330/132/33kV Inter-Bus Transformer II at the Egbin Transmission Substation, ignited and spread to TCN’s equipment.
Investigations revealed that the source of the fire was a defective 33kV instrument transformer (CT/VT) installed by Egbin Power Plc. The resulting blaze damaged TCN’s 150MVA power transformer, tearing its main tank and causing oil leakage.
“As a direct consequence of this incident, there has been a temporary reduction in bulk power supply to Ikorodu and Odogunyan 132/33kV transmission substations,” Mbah stated. These substations supply electricity to parts of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), with Sagamu Line 1, Sagamu Line 2, and Maryland Line 2 on the 132kV network also affected.
At the time of the incident, a total of 47 megawatts (MW) of power was lost. TCN responded swiftly by diverting the load to another 150MVA transformer within the substation, which is now operating under strain. However, the company acknowledged that the capacity deficit has since increased, necessitating ongoing load-shedding across all impacted areas.
TCN has begun urgent efforts to procure and install a replacement transformer. The company has also informed IKEDC and EKEDC to implement load management strategies to mitigate the disruption within their franchise areas.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused to the two distribution companies and their customers. We are working tirelessly to restore normal power supply as quickly as possible,” the statement concluded.
The incident underscores the vulnerability of critical power infrastructure and the need for improved coordination and maintenance across the electricity value chain.
