The Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced that Bayelsa State is set to endure a prolonged blackout following the recent vandalism of 13 transmission towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuit transmission line.
According to The PUNCH, the power outage is also expected to affect several communities in Rivers State.
A TCN team, led by the General Manager of the Port Harcourt Transmission region, Emmanuel Akpa, conducted an inspection at the site and discovered the extent of the damage.
In a statement released on Wednesday by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, the vandals targeted towers T52 to T64, resulting in nine towers collapsing completely while four others are in a precarious condition, on the brink of collapse.
The vandalism incident was initially reported by the Youth President of the Ukpeli Community in Rivers State on August 12, 2024.
The compromised Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuit Transmission line is critical for channeling electricity from the Ahoada Transmission Substation to the Yenagoa Substation, which supplies power to the entirety of Bayelsa State.
The statement emphasized the severity of the situation, noting that “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.”
TCN’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Sule Abdulaziz, condemned the incident, describing it as “a national disaster.”
He called on the governments of Rivers and Bayelsa states to collaborate with TCN in curbing the escalating vandalism of power installations, which he said has become “increasingly alarming and overwhelming.”
Abdulaziz highlighted that TCN had “recently responded to the vandalism and subsequent collapse of towers T97 to T99 on the same line route on July 29, 2024,” with repairs still underway to restore those towers.
He further mentioned that a new contract had been awarded for the reinforcement of towers 19-31 along the Ahoada-Yenagoa line, where previous theft of tower components had occurred.
Despite these ongoing repair efforts, the recent attack on the 13 towers has introduced a significant setback.
The affected towers are located across various 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 in the Igbogene community in Bayelsa State.
In light of these repeated incidents, TCN has called on the public, security forces, host communities, traditional leaders, state governments, and all relevant stakeholders to join forces in combating the vandalism of critical power infrastructure.
