TCN transformer caught fire at Alagbon Injection substation in Lagos

The 66MVA transformer belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria at Alagbon injection substation in Lagos was Thursday engulfed by fire, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Eye witnesses told NAN that they heard a loud sound when it was raining heavily in the morning and suddenly one of the transformers at the sub-station caught fire.
The witnesses also said that the Lagos Fire Service arrived at the scene on time to put off the fire, stopping it from spreading to other transformers in the substation.
According to the witnesses, the incident immediately threw residents of the area into darkness.
Confirming the incident, Geoffrey Nwokoye, the Lagos Zonal General Manager of the company, told NAN that the fire was due to the light arrester that was shattered by the thunderstorm.
Nwokoye said: “This morning, there was rainfall with lot of lightening and one of our transformers at Alagbon injunction substation caught fire.
“The 66MVA transformer caught fire as a result of light arrester that was shattered due to the thundering light.
“This light arrester is to absorb the over voltage, but the over voltage was too much as a result of the lightening, maybe it was too much for the light arrester.
“The lightening shattered it and then the conductor that was to transfer dropped on the transformer; it was the conductor that dropped on the transformer that caused the fire incident.”
Nwokoye said the burnt transformer supplied electricity to consumers in Beckley, part of Ikoyi, Keffi and Central Lagos.
He said: “The good thing is that in the spirit of m-1 redundancy of TCN, engendered by the present management, we have enough capacity to take care of the transformer that was burnt.
“We have another transformer with the capacity to take care of the burnt one.
“We are hereby assuring customers under this transformer that electricity supply will be restored back within 12 hours; Our team of engineers is working on it.”