Kehinde Fajobi
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has reported a fresh attack on its electricity lines supplying Abuja, once again damaging vital infrastructure.
In a statement released on Friday, TCN’s Public Affairs Manager, Ndidi Mbah, confirmed that the incident occurred in the early hours at the 132kv transmission line and underground cable supplying bulk power to the 132kv Central Area transmission substation, Katampe, located in Abuja’s Central Area.
The statement noted, “Transmission lines taking power to parts of Abuja have again been attacked by vandals.
“The incident occurred in the early hours of Friday at the 132kv transmission line and underground cable transmitting bulk power to the 132kv Central Area transmission substation, Katampe, in the Central Area of Abuja.
”This has affected the supply of electricity to Maitama, Wuse and Garki.”
The attack impacted eight distribution feeders serving the Central Area, disrupting over 60 per cent of the power supply to the capital.
TCN condemned the persistent vandalism of critical infrastructure, sending a team of engineers to the site for swift repairs.
“The vandalism of this critical transmission infrastructure is suspected to have been carried out by unknown persons around Menillum Park axis of Abuja,” Mbah stated.
She added, “The vandals carted away 40 meters of 1x500mm conductor on the 2No of 132kv transmission lines. The incident has affected the power supply to Maitama, Wuse, Jabi, Lifecamp, Asokoro, Utako, Mabushi and part of the Presidential Villa.
“TCN engineers have been mobilised to the site to repair the vandalized cable and encourage all Nigerians to be vigilant to protect our transmission equipment.”
This attack comes on the back of significant losses last year, with the government spending N8.8bn to repair 128 electricity towers damaged by vandals between January and November.