The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says Bayelsa state will experience prolonged power outage due to the destruction of 13 transmission towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV double circuit transmission line by vandals.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Ndidi Mbah, the general manager of public affairs at TCN, she said the incident was first reported by the youth president of the Ukpeli community in Rivers state on Monday.
She said the situation was confirmed after a team led by Emmanuel Akpa, general manager of the Port Harcourt transmission region, visited the site and saw that all 13 towers from T52 to T64 were affected.
She mentioned that of the 13 vandalised towers, nine towers have collapsed completely, while four could collapse at any moment. Citing the crucial Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV double circuit transmission line responsible for evacuating power from the Ahoada transmission substation to the Yenagoa substation, which supplies electricity to the entire Bayelsa state.
“Given the extent of the destruction to the towers and the ongoing work on previously vandalised transmission towers, it may take several months for TCN to complete the rebuilding and stringing of the towers to restore power supply to the state,” Mbah said.
Commenting on the incessant destruction is Sule Abdulaziz, the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of TCN who described the incident as a national disaster and urged the governments of Rivers and Bayelsa states to assist the company in curbing the vandalism of its installations which has been “increasingly alarming and overwhelming.”
Abdulaziz said TCN had recently responded to the vandalism and subsequent collapse of towers T97 to T99 on the same line route on July 29, with work still ongoing to rebuild the vandalised towers. He mentioned that a recent contract was awarded to reinforce the previously vandalised lines on the Ahoada-Yenagoa line, yet here comes new destructions again.
According to the statement, the 13 vandalised towers are located in several communities, including 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.
Mbah further appealed to security operatives, host communities, traditional rulers, state governments and all stakeholders to collaborate with TCN in the fight against power installation vandalism as the continuous vandalism would prove grave to the community.
