Darkness hits Rivers, Bayelsa as vandals destroy thirteen TCN towers

Some parts of Rivers and Bayelsa states will experience months of blackout after vandals destroyed thirteen Transmission Company of Nigeria’s towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuits.

Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs, TCN, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

The TCN urged the governments of Rivers and Bayelsa states to assist it in addressing the ongoing vandalism of its installations, which has become increasingly alarming and overwhelming.

This comes after vandals had earlier destroyed the same Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission line.

“Additionally, a new contract was recently awarded for the reinforcement of towers 19-31 on the Ahoada-Yenagoa line, where tower members had been vandalized and stolen.

“Despite these ongoing efforts, the recent vandalism of the thirteen towers presents a significant challenge to TCN,” it said.

The company said that the thirteen vandalized towers are located in several communities, including Okobe in Ahoada East, Emezhi 1 in Ahoada West, and Mbiama in Ahoada West Local Government Areas of Rivers State, as well as the Igbogene community in Bayelsa State.

“Given the extent of the destruction to the towers and the ongoing work on previously vandalized transmission towers, it may take several months for TCN to complete the rebuilding and stringing of the towers to restore power supply to the state”, TCN added.

TCN called for collaboration among security operatives, and host communities to tackle rising vandalism of critical electricity facilities in the country.