The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has reported that vandals destroyed six transmission towers on the critical Apir-Lafia transmission line in Nasarawa State, leading to severe power supply disruptions. The incident occurred on May 30 at approximately 1:15 a.m. during a heavy downpour.
Details of the Incident
Ndidi Mbah, TCN's General Manager of Public Affairs, disclosed in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja that a trial reclosure of Line II was attempted at 2:08 a.m. after the initial tripping, but it failed. The tripping of the lines prompted a physical trace to identify the fault, which revealed damage to critical components of towers T125 to T130, confirming acts of vandalism on the affected sections of the transmission corridor.
Impact on Power Supply
As a result of the incident, both Apir–Lafia 330kV Transmission Lines I and II remain out of service pending reconstruction of the affected towers. TCN engineers have been mobilized to the site to assess the extent of the damage and determine the materials required to commence restoration of normal transmission along the corridor. Meanwhile, the Lafia 330kV Transmission Station is being supplied through the Lafia–Jos transmission line as a temporary measure to minimize the impact of the outage on electricity customers within the franchise areas of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC).
Condemnation and Appeal
Mbah strongly condemned the continued vandalism of power transmission infrastructure, stating that it undermines years of investment in the sector. TCN appealed to host communities and the general public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around transmission installations to security agencies or the nearest TCN office. Collective action is essential to protect national grid assets and ensure reliable power supply, she said.
