Substation explosion plunges parts of Enugu into blackout

An explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation on Friday night disrupted electricity supply to several parts of Enugu metropolis, leaving communities served by the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders without power.

The Head of Communications at MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited, Emeka Ezeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, attributing the outage to damage caused by the explosion.

He said, “MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited wishes to inform its esteemed customers served by the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders that the ongoing power outage is due to an explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation.

“The incident occurred today, Friday, July 17, 2026, at about 7:30 p.m. and affected the indoor 11kV breaker at the injection substation.”

According to the company, areas affected on the Army 11kV feeder include Army Barracks, One Day Road, Meniru, Upper Meniru and Joe Continental.

Communities affected on the Gariki 11kV feeder include Gariki Market, Mayor Market, Roban Stores on Agbani Road, Crunchies, Mobile Police Barracks, Amechi Road, Upper Mount, Ikiriki, Emeka Ebila, Ozalla Street, Egbonnaji, Nnaji Ogbodo, Idaw River, Igbariam Street, Liberation, Mount, Umuchu, Achina, Vance, Unubi, Enugu Agidi, Amawbia, Amokwe, Kenneth, Amah and Hill Crest.

Ezeh said the company’s technical team had begun assessing the damaged equipment and had commenced restoration work.

He apologised for the inconvenience and appealed to customers for patience while restoration efforts continued.

Earlier this year, the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission downgraded some of MainPower’s feeders after finding that they failed to meet the minimum daily electricity supply required for certain customer categories.

MainPower assumed responsibility for electricity distribution in Enugu State following the unbundling of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company’s operations under the state’s electricity market reforms.