The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced that due to the destruction of thirteen of its towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuits by vandals, certain areas in Rivers and Bayelsa states will experience prolonged power outages.
This announcement was made by Ndidi Mbah, the General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, in a statement released on Wednesday.
The TCN has appealed to the governments of Rivers and Bayelsa states to provide assistance in addressing the escalating vandalism of its installations. This plea comes in the wake of previous vandalism of the same Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission line.
TCN disclosed that a recent contract had been awarded for the reinforcement of towers 19-31 on the Ahoada-Yenagoa line, where tower members had been vandalized and stolen.
The company expressed that the recent vandalism of the thirteen towers poses a significant challenge to TCN and emphasized that the affected towers are situated in various communities such as Okobe in Ahoada East, Emezhi 1 in Ahoada West, and Mbiama in Ahoada West Local Government Areas of Rivers State, as well as the Igbogene community in Bayelsa State.
TCN stated that the extent of the destruction to the towers and the ongoing work on previously vandalized transmission towers may result in several months being required for TCN to complete the rebuilding and stringing of the towers in order to restore power supply to the state.
In response, TCN has urged for collaborative efforts between security operatives and host communities to address the increasing vandalism of critical electricity facilities in the country.