We’ve suffered setback in restoring power to north-east, says TCN

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says one of the four new towers along the Jos-Gombe 330 kilo volt (kV) transmission line collapsed during the cable stringing process.

Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s general manager of public affairs, made this known in a statement on Monday.

Mbah said the incident affecting its tower 290 (T290) occurred at about 7 am.

She said the incident occurred while the contractor was stringing the cable on the last tower, which was supposed to enable the final joining of the power cable in time for energising the line on the same day.

“In spite of the security challenges in the area, TCN contractors and some of our engineering staff worked tirelessly to fast-track the project, doing all that was humanly possible to meet the time-line,” Mbah said.

“Everyday, the contractor, TCN engineers accompanied by security operatives consistently left the site by 10 pm in the night and resumed work at 6 a.m. every day.

“Constructing towers and stringing power cables at such heights is highly technical, although TCN contractors and staff have successfully completed similar projects in other parts of the country.

 “The collapse of the fourth tower is a significant setback, given the extensive efforts to ensure that the May 27 power restoration timeline was met.”

Mbah said TCN’s contractor was currently dismantling the collapsed tower members to enable reconstruction and final restringing of the cable.

She added that it was unfortunate that while TCN is working on reconstructing and restringing the four vandalised towers, three towers along the Biu – Danboa 132kV transmission line were also vandalised with 16 spans of conductors stolen.

The GM said the towers, which had all collapsed, included towers T1690, T1691 and T1692.

Mbah said the discovery was made by TCN patrol team on May 24 and the company has mobilised a contractor to commence their reconstruction.

“This morning also, the TCN lines patrol team discovered that tower T540 along the Makurdi – Jos 330kV double circuit transmission line has been vandalised,” she said.

“Sections of the tower have been removed, although the tower remains standing. TCN has contracted emergency repairs, to prevent its collapse.

“We reiterate our commitment to restoring normal bulk power supply through the distribution companies serving the North East and other areas affected by vandalism.

“There is, however, an urgent need for everyone to join hands with TCN in protecting our collective assets by being vigilant, and reporting any suspected acts of tower and line vandalism promptly.”

On April 23, four towers along the Jos–Gombe 330 kilo volt (kV) transmission line were vandalised — affecting electricity supply to Gombe, Damaturu, Maiduguri, Yola, Bauchi, and Jalingo.

However, on May 17, the North-East Governors Forum (NEGF) called out TCN expressing their disappointment over the blackout experienced by the region over the last month.

The company had assured NEGF that it was working very hard to meet the May 27 deadline.