Vandals Continue Onslaught on TCN Power Lines, Disrupt Bulk Supply to Lokoja-Gwagwalada

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The unrelenting attack by terrorists and vandals on the power assets of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) continued at the weekend, with  suspected criminals attacking the line that supplies bulk power to Lokoja-Gwagwalada.

This is despite the recent collaboration between the TCN, ministry of power as well as the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to curb the incessant attacks on Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
A report recently put the amount spent by the authorities in fixing vandalised facilities in recent years at a whopping N29.3 billion to repair 266 electricity towers damaged by vandals nationwide.
The incidents that occurred between January 2022 and October 2024, a period of 34 months, affected power availability and accessibility across the federation.

It came as the latest Africa Trade Barometer report revealed that Nigeria loses as much as $26 billion yearly to power failures, amid power grid disturbances and collapses that are almost becoming a daily occurrence in the country.
A statement in Abuja yesterday by the General Manager, Public Affairs of the TCN, Ndidi Mbah, stated that although TCN’s engineers had attempted to fix the vandalised 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.
The rising trend of vandalism targeting transmission lines and towers, according to the transmission company, had become a significant challenge, severely impacting the country’s power infrastructure and hindering the expansion and stability of the national grid.

This recent incident, the TCN said, adds to an alarming pattern of attacks on the transmission network nationwide.
 In the Gwagwalada area alone, it stated that recent acts of vandalism include the attack on the Gwagwalada–Kukwaba–Apo transmission line on  December 10, 2023, the Gwagwalada–Katampe line on February 26, 2024, and several others on that axis.

“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.