- Residents asked to vacate troubled area • TCN laments massive damage to facility
Tragedy was averted on Friday at Isale Odo, LASU Road, in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, following the containment of a pipeline explosion.
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Acting Coordinator, South West Zonal Office of the National Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the development in a statement issued in Lagos.
Farinloye said the explosion was caused by the collapse of a 330KV Line which occurred within the axis earlier in the day.
He said the collapsed high tension line from Egbin Power Plant, Ikorodu, supplies electricity to Ikeja West which falls under the operational network of Ikeja Electric.
“The electricity cable collapse led to sparks and the sparks got to spilled petrol around the area which led to the pipeline gutting fire and a subsequent explosion.
“The pipeline corridor has been known to have spillage often due to activities of vandals,’’ Farinloye stated.
He noted that the fire was still raging but did not pose any threat to lives or property
He stated also that NNPC’s safety officials were on their way to the swampy location to put out the fire.
Farinloye added that officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps were already on ground monitoring the situation.
He added that Ikeja Electric Plc. was trying to isolate the 330KV line, having been informed of the development.
Lagos asks residents of adjoining buildings to vacate area
Lagos State government has residents of the adjoining buildings in the community to vacate the area to avert any secondary incident that could lead to disaster.
The DG/CEO of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency(LASEMA),Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday.
According to him:”The agency received a distress call via the emergency toll-free line, today Friday, 24th December, 2021 at 12.30am regarding a pipeline explosion at Royal Estate Iyana Odo along LASU-Igando Road.
“Immediately, the Emergency Response Plan was activated and the Agency’s Response Team at Igando was deployed.Consequent upon the arrival of the team, it was discovered that a 330KV Transmission Powerline collapsed with its power cables, spreading across the two lanes of the major road inward and outward Igando-Idimu road as a result of the impact of a pipeline explosion which occurred few metres away from the collapsed powerline.
“Fortunately, no casualties were recorded and the G.M Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engineer Ajiboye, was contacted and arrived at the scene with his team to restore normalcy and forestall any incident of electric shock in the area.”
He added: “In addition, the NNPC maintenance crew was also contacted to shut the valve of the pipeline. The agency’s Response Team has warned residents of adjoining buildings to vacate the area so as to avert any secondary incident that could lead to disaster.
“The agency in collaboration with Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, the Nigeria Police Force, the NNPC and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, are the responders at the scene.Operations still ongoing.”
EKEDC lists affected areas
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has listed areas under its network of operations affected by the incident.
The electricity distribution company blamed the incident on activities by vandals which led to a pipeline explosion and collapse of the towers across the Akangba/Ikeja West Lines.
The DisCo in a statement on its social media page said the areas affected by the incident were Akangba, Amuwo, Apapa, FESTAC, Orile and Yaba.
It said others experiencing blackouts are Yaba, Ijesha, LUTH, Tejuosho and environs.
“We are working with our Transmission Company of Nigeria partners on a swift resolution and will keep you updated on the situation.
“Thank you for your understanding,” EKEDC said.
Incident caused massive damage – TCN
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday said that an inferno caused by the vandalised pipeline caused massive damage to 330kV Ikeja-West Akangba transmission line 1, burning off a large portion of the conductor.
A statement from the company noted that this triggered a resistant pull on the high-tension towers along the line route causing five of them to collapse.
It added that the incident which is estimated to have occurred at about 00.29 in the early hours of Friday , burnt a wide portion of the 330kV transmission line which wheels 145MW of bulk power to the Akangba Substation.
TCN explained that the transmission towers affected are the two closest to the site of the incident and three across the Lagos Canal.
“As a result of the incident, there is a major reduction of bulk power wheeled to TCN’s 330/132/33kV Akangba Transmission Substation in Lagos, however, due to the fact that the substation takes supply from two different 330kV transmission lines, with the second being the redundant line, TCN will rearrange bulk electricity transmitted on that line route to the second 330kV previously carrying 59MW.
“Presently, TCN is successfully back-feeding the substations affected by the towers’ collapse, while the engineers are patrolling the second 330kV transmission line that tripped due to the incident, to ensure it has no fault before it is energized. Once it is energized, supply will be restored to all the substations affected by the incident from the second 330kV transmission line, as the load carried by the burnt 330kV line will now be transferred to the second line.”
The statement added: “This kind of incident is a major setback to the implementation of our grid expansion and stability under our well-articulated Electricity Grid Maintenance, Expansion and Rehabilitation Programme. This is because the re-erection of five towers and restringing of the 330kV transmission line is a major project that costs a lot of money and will take a while to complete.
“TCN is by this appealing to Nigerians to desist from activities such as oil bunkering, and other destructive tendencies, as they all have very far-reaching negative effects on the nation at large. The issue of protecting our national assets is imperative. Protecting national assets is one that must be taken very seriously so that the stability of the nation’s network and the development of the nation is not compromised.”
