By William Emmanuel Ukpoju
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has suffered yet another setback as vandals damaged two of its transmission towers, T133 and T136, along the 330kV Shiroro-Kaduna transmission lines one and two. This information is contained in a Press Release recently issued by TCN. This malicious act has compromised the transmission lines, disrupting power supply to the North West region.
According to Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, “The vandalism of the towers and transmission lines presents a significant challenge to bulk power transmission in that axis.” However, TCN is committed to restoring power transmission, stating, “We are however committed to re-erecting the towers and restringing the transmission lines to restore bulk power transmission through both 330kV power transmission lines.”
The incident occurred when the 330kV transmission line one tripped, followed shortly by the second line, prompting the mobilization of local vigilantes to patrol the lines. The damaged towers were discovered with cables badly damaged at several points.
To mitigate the impact, TCN engineers have implemented a temporary measure to supply bulk power to the Kaduna and Kano regions via the 330kV Kaduna – Jos transmission line.
This incident highlights the perpetual threat of vandalism to Nigeria’s power infrastructure. Similar incidents have occurred in the past, such as the vandalism of TCN’s tower 372 along the 330kV Gombe-Damaturu-Maiduguri transmission line.
So far, TCN is working to deploy its newly procured “emergency restoration system” to the site and has conducted an aerial survey with security operatives to assess the damage.