Residents of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, particularly small scale business operators, have expressed fear and anxiety following the announcement of a planned power outage by the Transmission Company of Nigeria ,TCN.
The outage, scheduled to commence on Friday, January 9, 2026, as gathered by DAILY POST, is coming barely a month after the state and some parts of neighbouring Adamawa State were plunged into darkness for several days ahead of the yuletide, thereby disrupting economic and social activities.
According to a statement issued by TCN management, the outage will last until Wednesday, January 13, 2026, and is intended to facilitate line stringing works and the energising of a new 150MVA power transformer at the Jalingo Transmission Substation.
The statement also noted that the exercise would begin at 09:00 hours on Friday and end at 17:00 hours on Wednesday, during which the Jalingo 330kV Transmission Station will be shut down, leading to supply interruptions across several areas.
The announcement has been met with dissatisfaction among residents of Jalingo, many of whom fear a repeat of the economic hardship experienced during the previous outage.
Some residents who spoke to DAILY POST lamented that the planned shutdown could cripple business activities in the state capital.
One of them, Bala Ande, recalled how several businesses were forced to close during the last outage due to the high cost of alternative power sources.
“We all know what we went through during the last outage. Many of us had to shut down our businesses because we could not cope. Most of us do not have generators, and even those who do could not afford the high cost of petrol,” Ande said.
Also expressing concern, Madam Esther, a hairdresser in Jalingo, said the outage had dashed her hopes of raising her children’s school fees within the period.
“I was hoping to raise my children’s school fees between now and next week, but this outage has affected that plan,” she lamented.
She called on relevant authorities, particularly the government, to collaborate more effectively with TCN and the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) to end frequent power interruptions caused by maintenance works.
“I believe it is high time the government worked closely with TCN and YEDC to address this problem once and for all,” she added.
Planned power outage sparks anxiety among Jalingo residents
Source: Planned power outage sparks anxiety among Jalingo residents
