The Transmission Company of Nigeria has said that the destruction of three more electricity transmission towers has set back its promise to restore power to the North-East by May 27, 2024.
The company announced on Monday, that three additional towers have been vandalised in the North-East, a development that further worsened the blackout in the region.
It said the latest incident occurred along the Biu – Danbua 132kV transmission line, as 16 spans of conductors were stolen, adding that this was discovered by the company on Friday.
Last week, TCN responded to the North-East Governors’ Forum by stating that electricity would be restored to the region on May 27, 2024.
This was after the North-East Governors’ Forum raised concerns that the region had been neglected, as the NEGF lambasted TCN over its poor handling of repairs of vandalised transmission towers in the region.
But on Monday, TCN in a statement issued in Abuja by its spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, stated that while it was trying to complete the reconstruction of four towers that were earlier vandalised in the North-East, it discovered that another three had been vandalised.
It also stated that tower number T290, one of the four new towers erected by TCN contractors along the Jos – Gombe 330kV transmission line collapsed during the cable stringing process.
“The incident occurred at about 7 am, this morning, May 27, 2024, while the contractor was stringing the cable on the last tower, which was supposed to enable the final jointing of the power cable in time for energising of the line today,” the company stated.
The transmission company, however, stated that while it was working to get that sorted, it found out that three additional towers had collapsed due to vandalism.
“It is unfortunate to note that while TCN is working on reconstructing and restringing the four vandalised towers, three towers along the Biu – Danbua 132kV transmission line were also vandalised with 16 spans of conductors stolen.
“The towers which have all collapsed include towers T1690, T1691 and T1692. TCN has mobilised a contractor to commence their reconstruction. This discovery was made by the TCN patrol team last Friday.
“Additionally, this morning, the TCN lines patrol team discovered that tower T540 along the Makurdi – Jos 330kV double circuit transmission line has been vandalised. Sections of the tower have been removed, although the tower remains standing. TCN has contracted emergency repairs to prevent its collapse,” the power firm stated.
It, however, noted that despite the security challenges in the area, TCN contractors and some of its engineering staff worked tirelessly to fast-track the reconstruction of the earlier damaged towers.
It said the firm did “all that was humanly possible to meet the timeline. Daily, the contractor and TCN engineers accompanied by security operatives consistently left the site by 10 pm and resumed work at 6 am every day.”
The firm said, “Constructing towers and stringing power cables at such heights is highly technical, although TCN contractors and staff have completed similar projects in other parts of the country.
“The collapse of the fourth tower is a significant setback, given the extensive efforts to ensure that today’s power restoration timeline was met. Our contractor is currently dismantling the collapsed tower members to enable its reconstruction and final restringing of the cable.”
The company reiterated its commitment to restoring normal bulk power supply through the distribution companies serving the North-East and other areas affected by vandalism.