National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Again, suspected vandals have destroyed the transmission high towers that supply power to Abuja, the capital of the country, resulting in the disruption of the Shiroro-Katampe 330kV transmission line.
TCN has three main 330kV transmission lines that provide AEDC bulk power to Abuja and its surroundings. Two weeks ago, an attack occurred on the Gwagwalada-Katampe route, leaving the capital dependent on two supply lines.
According to a statement released by TCN on Sunday, this attack marks the fifth of its kind to occur in February and March of this year.
“The Shiroro-Katampe transmission line tripped this morning at around nine in the morning. After preliminary investigations, TCN engineers tried to restart the line but were unable to. As a result, linesmen were sent to physically patrol the suspected area.
“While the fault was being traced, vigilante team leaders in the area alerted TCN linesmen to vandalism on the Shiroro-Katampe transmission line.
TCN personnel verified that the 330 kV Shiroro-Katampe transmission line 1, from Towers 244 to 245, had been vandalized and that conductors had been stolen. TCN is now mobilizing for conductor replacement, subject to the conclusion of security operations at the site.
The Lokoja-Gwagwalada 330kV transmission line would improve the wheeling capacity “towards Abuja and environs,” according to the disclosure.
The text indicates that “this incident is an addition to a string of vandalism incidents that TCN documented in February 2024, which includes the demolition of Tower 70 along the Gwagwalade-Katampe transmission line on February 26, 2024.”
Additional occurrences include the attack on towers 145 to 149 and 201 to 218 along the Owerri-Ahoda 132kV transmission line on February 15, 2024, and the vandalism of towers 377 and 378 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV transmission line on February 23, 2024.In addition, vandalism caused Tower 388 on the Jos-Bauchi 132kV single-circuit transmission line to fall on February 1, 2024.
“TCN calls on relevant security authorities and host communities to work together in order to apprehend those responsible for these acts of sabotage, as they are unacceptable.
The statement said, “Preservation of the country’s transmission infrastructure is of utmost importance, and coordinated efforts are needed to curtail these incidents.”
