Vandals strike again, stall repairs on Ahoada-Yenagoa power line – TCN

The Transmission Company of Nigeria says vandals have again disrupted repair work of its Ahoada-Yenagoa 132 Kilo Volt (kV) line, which is currently under repair due to previous vandalism.

This is contained in a statement by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, on Friday in Abuja.

Mbah said the second attack which affected towers 29 to 31, resulting in the theft of approximately one-third of the conductor, occurred on Tuesday.

She said 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.

Mbah said that the preliminary findings indicated that the incident occurred at night of the said date.

“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.

“Additionally, the line will be energised from the Ahoada end as a preventive measure.

“Efforts to replace the stolen 250mm conductor are currently underway. In spite of challenges posed by difficult terrain and flooding.

“The restringing of the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line is approximately 85 per cent completed,” she said.

Mbah said that earlier in November, vandals had attacked the transmission towers in the Okada and Ofosu Communities along the 330kV Benin-Egbin and Benin-Omotosho transmission lines.

“A total of 31 towers were affected in this incident before the second attack recorded on Nov.19,’’ she said.

She said that the vandalised towers which suffered significant damage, with critical components removed were discovered by TCN linesmen during a routine patrol.

“TCN engineers from the Benin Sub-Region had initiated repairs to prevent the collapse of the affected towers and to avoid 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.

‘TCN calls on the public to support efforts to address these crimes, which have significantly hampered the expansion and stability of the national grid,” she said.

Mbah said that as TCN intensifies its efforts to protect installations and appeal to security operatives and local communities to be more vigilant in safeguarding power infrastructure in their areas.

(NAN)