By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has again announced the vandalisation of its power towers and transmission lines by yet unidentified hoodlums.
A statement signed and issued Friday by the company’s general manager (GM) Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed that two towers along its 330kV Shiroro–Kaduna transmission lines 1 and 2 have been vandalised, damaging parts of both transmission lines.
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The statement quoted reports from the Shiroro Regional office of TCN as saying that the 330kV transmission line one tripped first, followed shortly by the second as efforts were still ongoing to reclose the first, prompting the urgent mobilisation of local vigilantes to patrol the lines that led to the discovery of two damaged towers, towers T133 and tower T 136, with their cables badly damaged at several points.
TCN assured that arrangements were in top gear to deploy the newly procured “emergency restoration system” to the site, pending the reconstruction of the damaged towers.
“TCN has also conducted an aerial survey in collaboration with security operatives, given the area’s vulnerability to banditry, which poses a significant threat to both TCN installations and personnel.
“In the interim, our engineers have implemented a temporary measure to supply bulk power to the Kaduna and Kano regions via the 330kV Kaduna-Jos transmission line,” the statement read in part.
The vandalised Shiroro-Kaduna 330kV lines 1 and 2 are vital lines through which bulk power is transmitted to parts of the North West region, with each line capable of carrying 600MW.
Admitting that the vandalisation of the towers and transmission lines presents a significant challenge to bulk power transmission in that axis, TCN reassured, “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.”