The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has expressed frustration over the repeated vandalism of its power transmission infrastructure, with the latest incident disrupting repair work on the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line.
According to a statement issued on Friday by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, the latest attack occurred on Tuesday, affecting towers 29 to 31 and resulting in the theft of approximately one-third of the conductor.
Mbah revealed that a team of TCN engineers, led by Mr. Emmanuel Akpa, the General Manager of the Port Harcourt Region, had conducted an inspection of the site and found that the incident occurred at night.
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“In order to prevent further theft while repairs are being made, local security has been engaged at Ula Ikata in Ahoada East Local Government Area to secure the site until repairs are completed,” Mbah said.
She added that the line would be energized from the Ahoada end as a preventive measure, and that efforts to replace the stolen 250mm conductor were currently underway despite challenges posed by difficult terrain and flooding.
Mbah noted that the restringing of the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line was approximately 85% completed, but that the latest vandalism had set back the repair work.
This is not the first time that TCN has suffered vandalism in recent times. Earlier in November, vandals attacked transmission towers in the Okada and Ofosu Communities along the 330kV Benin-Egbin and Benin-Omotosho transmission lines, affecting 31 towers.
Mbah lamented that the vandalized towers suffered significant damage, with critical components removed, and that TCN engineers had to initiate repairs to prevent the collapse of the affected towers and disruption of bulk power supply.
“These incidents underscore the urgent need to combat the growing problem of vandalism and theft affecting Nigeria’s power infrastructure,” Mbah said.
“TCN calls on the public to support efforts to address these crimes, which have significantly hampered the expansion and stability of the national grid.”
As TCN intensifies its efforts to protect its installations, Mbah appealed to security operatives and local communities to be more vigilant in safeguarding power infrastructure in their areas.
“The public must join hands with us to prevent these crimes and ensure that Nigeria’s power infrastructure is protected,”
Mbah said. “We cannot continue to allow these vandals to hold our economy hostage. It’s time for us to take action and secure our power infrastructure.”
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