TCN: Vandals responsible for tower collapse

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says its tower along the Jos-Bauchi Road in Plateau State, 132 Kilo Volt (kV) Single Circuit transmission line, has been vandalised, resulting in its collapse.

The TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

Mbah said that the incident was suspected to have occurred at about 10:20 p.m. on February 1.

She noted that the incident has led to a power outage in Yobe and Borno states.

The TCN spokesperson said: “Following a line trip in Jos and bearing in mind past experiences associated with line tripping in that axis.

“The General Manager, Transmission of Bauchi Region, Mr Tijjani Ahmadu, invited the police anti-bomb squad and the Department of State Services (DSS) to accompany the TCN line crew and investigate the transmission line to find the cause of the tripping.

TCN: National grid restored after collapse

“Upon inspection, the team uncovered remnants of detonated explosives by vandals by the tower legs, which had exploded and caused the tower to collapse.”

Mbah noted that the incident was similar to a recent act on December 21, 2023, which brought down towers T372 and T373 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV Single Circuit transmission line.

She said during the incident, a security operative was killed and the power supply to Yobe and Borno states was affected.

Mbah added that the line and towers from the December incident were fully reconstructed and energised on February 2.

She said TCN had engaged one of its contractors on an emergency basis to quickly mobilise to the site of the incident to commence the reconstruction and restringing of the affected line and tower.

The TCN spokesperson added: “TCN is determined to keep working at rehabilitating and further expanding the nation’s bulk power transmission network to ensure consistent bulk power transmission.

“It is pertinent to note that the continuous vandalism and theft of power equipment is a constant setback to the ongoing implementation of the transmission system expansion plan.

“This is because funds earmarked for grid expansion are usually diverted as a matter of emergency to repair vandalised power infrastructure, and sometimes to avert grid collapse.”

The Star