Two states in Nigeria, Bayelsa and Rivers, have been thrown into darkness as the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, announced that four of its towers along the Owerri-Ahoada 132kV Double Circuit line have been vandalized, resulting in their collapse.
The spokesperson for TCN, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
According to the statement, the incident affected towers T171 to T174, leading to their collapse at approximately 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.
The company said the electricity towers were discovered after a failed trial reclosure prompted a subsequent patrol.
The incident has resulted in an outage at the Ahoada, Gbarain, and Yenagoa 132kV transmission substations, affecting some parts of Rivers State and the entire Bayelsa State.
“Investigations confirmed that the towers’ collapse was a direct result of vandalism. This incident has disrupted power supply to the Ahoada, Gbarain, and Yenagoa 132kV transmission substations, affecting some parts of Rivers State and the entire Bayelsa State.
“A team of engineers, led by the General Manager of the Port Harcourt Region, Engr. Emmanuel Apka, has visited the site to assess the extent of the damage. TCN is making frantic efforts to mobilize personnel and materials for the repair of the vandalized towers so that bulk power supply can be restored to the affected states.
“We condemn this act of vandalism, which continues to undermine efforts to put in place a robust transmission grid. We are again calling on host communities to join us in the urgent fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure,” the statement reads.
Darkness hits Bayelsa, Rivers as vandals destroy four electricity towers along Owerri-Ahoada line
