TCN Announces Repair of 13 Electricity Towers Destroyed by Vandals along Ahoada-Yenagoa Line

•Bayelsa to deploy tech surveillance to protect facilities

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday announced that it had successfully repaired and erected 13 out of the 16 towers destroyed by vandals along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV transmission line.

The General Manager, Port Harcourt Region, Emmanuel Akpa,  revealed this during a meeting with the Secretary to the State Government in Bayelsa State, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei as well as members of the State House of Assembly, a statement in Abuja by the organisation said.

The TCN official lamented the spate of vandalism of the company’s installations nationwide, noting that between July and August alone, 16 towers were destroyed within the Port Harcourt region.

According to him, TCN’s  project implementation process in the area had been greatly hampered due to the nefarious acts of vandalism.

He further said: “We’re pained that this act has put the good people of Bayelsa into untold hardship and has equally plunged TCN into huge financial debt. In my 33 years of service, I have never seen this kind of colossal damage. It should be a national concern.

“Although vandalism is recorded across the country, the rate in this area is alarming,” Akpa was quoted as saying.

While calling for increased collaboration to tackle the issue, he added that community leaders should be given a marching order by the state government to take responsibility to prevent such activities in their communities.

He also appealed to the  government of Bayelsa to decisively address the issue to forestall future occurrence.

On his part, the Assistant General Manager, Port Harcourt sub-region, Benneth Ezemobi hinted that TCN had engaged a local vigilante group at Ahoada to secure the ongoing job and that they already apprehended two vandals tampering with  the newly rebuilt tower members, even as repairs were ongoing.

He reiterated the need to properly secure the areas to enable the smooth completion of the job so that bulk power supply can be restored to Bayelsa state.

Responding, the SSG in Bayelsa, Ayawei, expressed the state’s commitment to deploying heavy security personnel to the areas prone to vandalism within the state as well as implementing a technology-based surveillance to safeguard the towers.

Ayawei noted that the government had accepted to support the procurement of internet cameras to cover hot spots, noting that power was too critical,  and that without it, their job as a government would be incomplete.

Bayelsa state, he noted, is currently suffering, as every business has been affected by the vandalised towers, including the barbers, ice block sellers, and other small scale  businesses.

Also, the TCN and the Bayelsa government agreed to work together to create a new  work centre at Yenagoa to further enhance bulk power transmission and reduce downtime whenever a fault occurs.

Meanwhile, the TCN has said that its Benin region has received a new 60MVA power transformer and accessories at the 132/33kV Afiesere Transmission Substation in Delta State. The delivery, it said, took place on September 12 and August 28, 2024.

The new transformer, according to the government-owned organisation, is currently placed  on the plinth and is awaiting installation to replace a decommissioned 30MVA transformer in order to increase the substation’s capacity by 48MW upon installation.

It stated that this upgrade will enable Benin electricity Distribution Company (Disco) to supply more power to customers in Ottowodo, Ozoro, Afiesere, Agbara Eku and Isoko/kwale.

“This development is part of TCN’s Service Level Agreement (SLA), aimed at rehabilitating and expanding the national transmission grid capacity, and contribute to ensuring a more reliable and efficient bulk supply to distribution load centres,” the statement noted.