NIGERIA’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT)Abuja is currently in darkness as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced that its 330kV Shiroro –Katampe transmission line was vandalised on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
The vandalised transmission lines also supply lights to some parts of Nigeria’s northern region.
In a statement issued late Thursday, December 19, by TCN’s general manager, Ndidi Mbah, the company said the incident occurred at approximately 11:43 pm, when the 330kV Shiroro – Katampe circuit lost supply on the grid.
She said a trial reclosure was attempted, but the line tripped again immediately.
“TCN lines patrol team was dispatched from the Abuja Regional office of TCN to investigate the cause of the fault.
“The team discovered that vandals had stolen part of the conductor between towers T216 and T218,” the company’s statement said.
The company further stated that the TCN lines maintenance crew has since mobilised to the site and is working assiduously to replace the vandalised 330kV power conductor. Restoration of bulk power supply through the affected line is expected soon.
The transmission company also appealed to the general public to assist in identifying and reporting suspicious activities around power transmission infrastructure, to curb activities of vandals and apprehend the culprits.
The ICIR in November reported that 128 transmission towers were destroyed by vandals in 2024, raising concern over the recurrent epileptic power supply in the country.
The transmission company also said it has so far spent about N8.8 billion to repair and put into adequate use the vandalised transmission towers within the year.
The ICIR also reported that Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, which supplies power to Northern Nigeria, was in October vandalised by insurgents and deploying engineers without security support was not feasible.
The transmission line is a critical infrastructure that supplies electricity to the Northern region.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.