Razed Ayede Substation: TCN surprises residents, restores power under 24 hours

The chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Oluyole branch, Ibadan, Engineer Abdulrasaq Jimoh, has said the 24-hour restoration time of the fire-gutted Ayede 330/132/33kV Transmission Substation due to surge was made possible by its dedicated engineers.

Speaking on the feat, Jimoh said the quick resolution and power restoration was unexpected given the burnt 150MVA power transformer with associated wiring and equipment.

He said the unwavering efforts of the Transmission Technical Crew amazed the generality of Ibadan, Oyo, Iseyin, Iwo, Ijebu Ode and Sagamu residents, who the substation is serving.

He added that people were expecting the restoration time to take one to two weeks, but the crew, led by the TCN Head TSP, Engineer Victor Adewumi, alongside I. L. Alim, GM TS; L. Adebola, RTM (Lagos region) and K. Bakare, RTM (Osogbo region) and station engineers restored the system within a few hours.

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Jimoh stated that although the system has not been fully stabilised, all hands are on deck to get the system to serve the people again with available three 150MVA power transformers.

He, therefore, appealed to the TCN Managing Director to urgently replace the burnt transformer and thoroughly investigate the cause(s) of the incident in order to prevent recurrence.

He said: “The protection level has to be upgraded and periodic maintenance must be imbibed.
“The TCN Managing Director should please look for the blueprint of power improvement plans in Oyo State and complete proposed Erunmu 330/133/33kV Transmission substation to cater for load requirement on the Iwo Road and New Ife Road axis of Ibadan.

“In addition, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway axis which has proposed industrial parks of Oyo State with existing growing heavy industries call for location of 132kV substation.

“Also, the existing Jericho and Ayede Substation needed to be extended towards Eleyele and Apete areas of Ibadan. Ease of power evacuations at Jericho and Ayede Transmission Substations may not be feasible because of built-up area which has hindered evacuation corridors.”

The NSE boss also called on the Oyo State governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, to follow up with the state power improvement plan and the authorities concerned to complete the ongoing Transmission Station projects in Ogbomoso which is near completion as well Lalante-Idere through Abeokuta.