Residents of Anambra State and Oji River in Enugu State were thrown into sudden darkness on Wednesday following a massive power outage that has crippled electricity supply across the region.
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) confirmed that the blackout was caused by an explosion at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Station in Awada, which occurred at about 2:34 a.m.
In a statement signed by Mr. Emeka Ezeh, Group Head of Corporate Communications at EEDC, the company disclosed that the unexpected incident disrupted electricity supply to its entire customer base in Anambra State and Oji River, leaving households, businesses, and public institutions without power.
“As a result of this development, all our customers in the entire Anambra State and Oji River in Enugu State have been out of electricity supply.
We are on standby, closely following up with the TCN team who has been working assiduously to address the situation. We hope that supply will be restored soon, once they are done,” Ezeh said.
The sudden blackout has had far-reaching consequences in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Ihiala, and other commercial towns in Anambra State, where small businesses and industries rely heavily on electricity to power daily operations.
In Oji River, Enugu State, residents also expressed frustration as the blackout coincided with ongoing economic pressures, including rising fuel prices which make running generators increasingly expensive.
Market traders in Onitsha Main Market, one of the busiest in West Africa, lamented that the outage is already affecting their sales, particularly cold storage businesses that depend on uninterrupted electricity to preserve perishable goods.
Acknowledging the inconvenience caused, EEDC appealed to its customers for patience while efforts continue to restore normalcy.
“We understand the inconvenience this situation has caused our esteemed customers and deeply regret the disruption.
We assure our customers of our continued commitment to providing improved services as soon as supply is restored,” Ezeh noted.
The company also reiterated its partnership with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), stressing that the restoration process lies within TCN’s control, as the explosion occurred at their transmission facility.
This latest development highlights the persistent fragility of Nigeria’s power sector, particularly in the South-East region.
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) is the sole electricity distribution company serving the five states of the South-East — Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, and Imo.
However, its performance has often been hampered by technical breakdowns, poor infrastructure, and system collapses at the national grid.
Just earlier this year, residents in parts of Anambra and Enugu experienced prolonged blackouts due to vandalism of electricity installations.
According to EEDC, repeated attacks on its facilities have cost the company billions of naira in repairs and replacements.
Energy experts say the explosion at TCN’s Awada station further underscores the urgent need for investment in transmission infrastructure, as most of the country’s grid network remains outdated and vulnerable.
Some community leaders in Anambra have called on the Federal Government to prioritize power infrastructure in the South-East, noting that recurrent outages hurt industrial productivity and discourage investors.
Mr. Chuka Nwankwo, a business owner in Awka, told reporters:
“We cannot continue to live like this. Every time there is a problem, it takes days or weeks before power is restored.
The government must take this matter seriously because electricity is the backbone of any economy.”
Civil society groups have also urged both TCN and EEDC to adopt more proactive measures in securing power facilities and ensuring quicker restoration timelines.
While TCN engineers have reportedly mobilized to the site of the explosion to assess the damage and commence repairs, no official timeline for restoration has been given as of press time.
EEDC maintains that it will continue updating the public as developments unfold.
In the meantime, residents are bracing for possible extended outages, with many businesses already turning to alternative energy sources such as solar power and diesel generators — a costly adjustment for households already battling inflation.
The explosion at TCN’s Awada transmission station once again draws attention to Nigeria’s electricity crisis, where system collapses, vandalism, and technical faults have repeatedly left millions in darkness.
For now, the people of Anambra State and Oji River must endure the blackout with hopes that power will be restored soon.
As EEDC works with TCN to resolve the outage, residents are left asking the bigger question: when will Nigeria’s power sector finally deliver the stable and reliable electricity supply it has long promised?