The Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN has announced the destruction of two of its transmission towers in Igbooghene community of Bayelsa state, southern Nigeria.

TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah who made this this known in a statement said towers T98 and T99 along the Ahoada/Yenagoa 132kV line were vandalised on July 29, 2024.

According to her, the incident resulted in the collapse of both towers, cutting off Power supply to Bayelsa State, TCN’s Yenagoa Sub-station and the Gbarain Power Station.

Mrs Mbah stated that the company’s Engineers led by the General Manager Transmission, Port Harcourt Region, Emmanuel Akpa, accompanied by men from the DSS have inspected the site where these towers were vandalised.

She disclosed that plans are already ongoing to mobilise a contractor on an emergency basis to reconstruct the collapsed towers.

‘This follows an incident on June 16, 2024, where an individual was caught vandalizing tower T238 along the Owerri/Ahoada 132kV double circuit transm
ission lines. Another act of vandalism occurred on June 10, 2024, at the Ahoada Transmission Substation’,she said.

She urged the public to help in the ongoing fight against the vandalism of Power infrastructure nationwide, stressing that TCN Will continue to collaborate with security operatives and host communities including the DSS and Civil Defence Corps to combat the menace.

Mrs Mbah, further disclosed that the company is interfacing with Stakeholders including security operatives in Yenagoa to put in place other initiatives geared towards helping TCN curtail the menace within the State.

Meanwhile, Yenagoa Metropolis and the entire Bayelsa State are still without Power supply.

‘As we continue to work towards a robust grid, it is pertinent to note that a nation’s power sector cannot grow efficiently if funds intended for infrastructural expansion are repeatedly used to replace vandalized equipment,’ she added.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria