…….Urges Local Communities to Protect FGN Installations
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has blamed the vandalisation of the Tower No. 104, along Odukpani/Ikot Ekpene 330 Kilo Volt (KV) transmission line for the April 8 collapse of the grid.
TCN explained in a statement yesterday signed by its public affairs officer, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, that the vandalisation of tower caused a sudden loss of 400MW from the grid, resulting to its collapse.
Mrs. Mbah informed that the TCN managing director, Mr. Sule Abdulaziz, had led the management of team of the company to on an on-the-spot assessment of the vandalized Tower No. 104, along Odukpani/Ikot Ekpene 330 Kilo Volt (KV) transmission line.
The transmission line is located at Oku Iboku Community, Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
Abdulaziz used the opportunity plead with local communities to report suspicious activities around federal government electrical installations nationwide to TCN offices or to security operatives close by.
“The vandalised tower caused a sudden loss of 400MW from the grid, causing its collapse on April 8. The grid has since been restored,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a report issued last Monday, the federal government confirmed that the collapse of Nigeria’s electricity grid actually occurred twice – on Friday and Saturday last week.
Last month, the national grid collapsed twice within a space of two days, a development that made the Federal Government summon a meeting of stakeholders to address the issue.
But despite the about two days meeting that was held at the instance of the power minister in Abuja last month, the grid collapsed twice again last week, as this happened in less than two days.
The special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on infrastructure, Ahmed Zakari, equally blames the recurring collapse of the grid to sabotage and vandalism. He described the act as one that was difficult to comprehend.
Power distribution companies had confirmed the recent grid collapse, as they explained that it was what triggered the widespread blackout in Nigeria at the weekend.
The federal government had announced last weekend that the Nigerian Regulatory Commission and the System Operator were investigating the causes of the recurrent power grid collapse that had repeatedly led to widespread blackouts across the country.
Be the first to know when we publish an update
