VANDALS STRIKE LOKOJA-GWAGWALADA POWER TRANSMISSION LINE, DISRUPTING BULK ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
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The line that provides bulk power to Lokoja-Gwagwalada was targeted by suspected criminals over the weekend, continuing the ongoing assault by terrorists and vandals on the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) power assets.
This is in spite of recent efforts to stop the ongoing attacks on Nigeria’s power infrastructure by the TCN, the Ministry of Power, and the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
According to a recent estimate, officials have spent an astounding N29.3 billion to replace 266 vandalized electricity towers around the country.
Power supply and accessibility throughout the federation were impacted by the events that took place between January 2022 and October 2024, a span of 34 months.
In the midst of power system disruptions and breakdowns that are all but everyday in Nigeria, the most recent Africa Trade Barometer survey showed that the country loses up to $26 billion annually due to power outages.
Ndidi Mbah, the TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, said in a statement released yesterday in Abuja that despite TCN’s engineers’ efforts to repair the vandalized line, it tripped.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby reports that vandals have again attacked its 330kV Lokoja-Gwagwalada transmission line 1, in the early hours of Saturday 9, November 2024.
“Early on Saturday, TCN engineers attempted to re-energise the 330kV Lokoja–Gwagwalada transmission line 1, but the line tripped.
“After efforts to reclose the line failed, a patrol team of TCN linesmen was dispatched to physically trace the line for faults. Upon inspection, they discovered that transmission towers T306, T307, and T308 along line 1 had been vandalised, disrupting bulk power transmission along the route,” the statement added.
Further examination, Mbah said, revealed that the vandals had stolen two spans of aluminium conductor from line one.
“The Lokoja–Gwagwalada line is a double-circuit transmission line, and while TCN is still supplying bulk power through line two, efforts are underway to source replacement aluminium conductors for the two spans stolen from line one,” TCN pointed out.
According to the transmission firm, the growing trend of vandalism against transmission lines and towers has become a serious problem that is seriously affecting the nation’s power infrastructure and impeding the growth and stability of the national grid.
According to the TCN, this latest incident is part of a concerning trend of attacks on the transmission network across the country.
The attack on the Gwagwalada–Kukwaba–Apo transmission line on December 10, 2023, the Gwagwalada–Katampe line on February 26, 2024, and numerous more axis are examples of recent vandalism in the Gwagwalada area alone, according to the report.
“Such acts of vandalism continue to disrupt the stability and growth of Nigeria’s national grid. We once again appeal to members of the public, especially residents of communities hosting transmission lines and towers, to collaborate with TCN and security operatives in combating this menace.
“Vandalism of power installations is a disservice to us all and undermines efforts to strengthen the nation’s transmission system,” the TCN statement said.
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