The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced that six transmission towers along the Apir-Lafia transmission line in Nasarawa State were destroyed by vandals, leading to significant disruptions in electricity supply to customers of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC).
Incident Details
In a statement released on Wednesday, June 3, TCN's General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, revealed that the vandalism occurred in the early hours of May 30 during a heavy downpour. The transmission line tripped at approximately 1:15 a.m., prompting operators to attempt a trial reclosure of Line II at around 2:08 a.m. However, the reclosure attempt was unsuccessful.
Following the failed reclosure, engineers conducted a physical inspection of the transmission corridor, where they discovered extensive damage to critical components of towers T125 to T130. The findings confirmed that the towers were vandalised, Mbah stated.
Current Status
Both Apir-Lafia 330kV transmission lines I and II remain out of service pending the reconstruction of the affected towers. As a result of the incident, electricity supply to the affected areas has been severely impacted. TCN engineers have been deployed to the site to assess the extent of the damage and determine the materials required for repairs and restoration of normal transmission along the corridor.
Temporary Measures
To mitigate the impact of the outage, the Lafia 330kV Transmission Station is currently being supplied through the Lafia–Jos transmission line as a temporary measure. This arrangement is expected to help maintain electricity supply to customers within the coverage areas of AEDC and JEDC until the damaged towers are reconstructed.
Condemnation and Call for Vigilance
The TCN spokesperson condemned the repeated vandalism of electricity infrastructure, warning that such activities threaten the stability of the national grid and undermine investments in the power sector. She urged residents and host communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around transmission facilities to security agencies or the nearest TCN office. Collective action is essential to protect national grid assets and ensure reliable power supply, Mbah added.
