TCN: Four towers along Jos-Gombe transmission line vandalised

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says four of its towers along the Jos–Gombe 330 Kilo Volt (kV) transmission line have been vandalised.

TCN said the incident took place at about 3:32 pm on April 22.

In a statement, Ndidi Mbah, TCN general manager. public affairs, said after the transmission line tripped, the company’s operators attempted to restore it to service but it tripped again.

Mbah said this prompted the dispatch of TCN operators to trace the line to detect and rectify the fault.

She added that while tracing the fault, TCN’s engineering crew discovered towers 288, 289, 290, and 291 were vandalised and some parts were carted away.

“Also, the towers had equally collapsed as a result of the incident,” she said.

“Presently, bulk power supply to Gombe, Yola, and Jalingo Substations have been disrupted, affecting bulk power supply to parts of Yola and Jos Electricity Distribution Companies’ franchise areas.

“To mitigate the effect of the incident on electricity consumers affected by the incident, TCN is trying to first back feed Gombe through its 132kV transmission line from Bauchi and subsequently Ashaka, Potiskum, Damaturu, and Billiri/Savannah.”

She said TCN would do everything humanly possible to restore supply to the affected areas, while efforts were being made to reconstruct the vandalised towers.

On April 18, the transmission company said it had deployed a digital system called generation dip/loss detection system (GLDS) to swiftly detect and respond to sudden drops in power generation.

The deployed GLDS, which provides advanced tools for real-time monitoring and analysis of grid performance, is to help enhance management.

The country has on three different occasions suffered a grid collapse in 2024.

The first national grid collapsed was recorded on February 4, with another blackout on March 28 and on April 15.