Victor EzejaThe Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has decried the spate of attacks on power facilities across the country, lamenting the impact on the national grid.
TCN said hoodlums vandalised its 330kv Lokoja-Gwagwalada transmission line 1 in the early hours of Saturday, 9th November 2024, causing disruption of bulk power transmission along that route.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis adds to the number of power facilities destroyed by vandals, causing instability on the national grid and plunging different parts of the country into darkness.
In a statement released on Sunday, 10 November, General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said TCN engineers discovered that transmission towers T306, T307, and T308 along line 1 on the Lokoja-Gwagwalada route were vandalized and two spans of aluminium conductor stolen by the criminals.
The transmission company appealed to communities hosting transmission lines to collaborate with it and security operatives in tackling the problem, adding that vandalism undermines efforts to strengthen the country’s power transmission system.
The statement reads: “The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby reports that vandals have attacked its 330kV Lokoja – Gwagwalada transmission line 1, in the early hours of Saturday 9th November 2024.
Early on Saturday, TCN engineers attempted to re-energise the 33OKV Lokoja-Gwagwalada transmission line 1, but the line tripped. After efforts to reclose the line failed, a patrol team of TCN linesmen was dispatched to physically trace the line for faults. Upon inspection, they discovered that transmission towers T306, T307, and T308 along line 1 had been vandalised, disrupting bulk power transmission along the route.
“Further examination revealed that the vandals had stolen two spans of aluminium conductor from line one. The Lokoja-Gwagwalada line is a double-circuit transmission line, and while TCN is still supplying bulk power through line two, efforts are underway to source replacement aluminum conductors for the two spans stolen from line one.
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“The rising trend of vandalism targeting transmission lines and towers has become a significant challenge, severely impacting the country’s power infrastructure and hindering the expansion and stability of the national grid.
“This recent incident adds to an alarming pattern of attacks on the transmission network nationwide. In Gwagwalada alone, recent acts of vandalism include the attack on Gwagwalada-Kukuwaba-Apo transmission line on 10th December 2023, the Gwagwalada-Katampe line on February 26, 2024, and several others on that axis. Such acts of vandalism continue to disrupt the stability and growth of Nigeria’s national grid.
“We once again appeal to members of the public, especially residents of communities hosting transmission lines and towers, to collaborate with TCN and security operatives in combating this menace. Vandalism of power installations is a disservice to us all and undermines efforts to strengthen the nation’s transmission system.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
