FOLLOWING the lingering power outage  in Maiduguri and some parts of Borno State in the last two months, Governor Kashim Shettima has set up an emergency task force on restoration of electricity in the state with the mandate of deploying any available legal means aimed at quick restoration of electricity supply.

Managing Director of the newly established Borno Energy Development Company, Engr. Umar Zubairu who spoke with newsmen, yesterday, said the task force which has Engr. Ibrahim Ali, the Chief of Staff, Abubakar Kyari and a staff of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Imamuddeen Talba, as members, has since commenced high level talks with stakeholders in the power sector.

Zubairu said at different times between last Monday and yesterday, the task force was at the headquarters of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria in Abuja during which a technical meeting was held with directors and other key officials. He added that the task Force was also at the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and met with the Director, Transmission Service Provider, Engr T.O Uwah, before holding another meeting with Mr Nestor Divina who is head of technical operations and also acting Managing Director of Yola Electricity  Distribution Company which supplies electricity to Borno. The meeting with Yola DISCO, he noted, had in attendance, the company’s secretary, Mohammed Bala.

In all the meetings between the Borno Task Force and the power stakeholders, Malam Umar Zubairu, said options were analyzed on ways by which electricity could be restored in the immediate, short and long term.

Zubairu noted that the task force had found from its technical sessions that the power outage was as a result of the destruction of 132 KV line in Damboa, which couldn’t be repaired due to security challenges in that axis, adding that the Task Force equally discovered that 330 KV line from Potiskum through Damaturu, had one tower destroyed while there was also a problem with movement of a heavy duty transformer for 330 -132 KV due to access road to transformer site.

He explained that while the transformer weighed 90 tons, the road leading to its site wasn’t designed to withstand such machine.

On the way forward, the Managing Director said, Governor Kashim Shettima has given the Task Force the go ahead to commit the State Government to immediately begin technical works through the Borno Road Maintenance Agency to reinforce and stabilize the road to access the heavy duty transformer so it can be installed on the 330-132 KV line.

He said the governor has also directed the task force to conclude technical partnership with the power stakeholders on ways for repair of the tower on the 330 KV from Potiskum-Damaturu axis, adding that the task force has been mandated to involve the Transmission Company and Yola DISCO on installation and transmission of power using 20 megawatts generators.