The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said a recent rainfall caused the collapse of tower No 61 while five other transmission towers have been vandalized and some tower members removed in Delta state.
A statement from the spokesperson, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, said TCN noticed the transmission line tripped and dispatched a lines’ patrol team that revealed the tower collapse.
The team also discovered members of five other towers on Ughelli – Benin line route were missing.
It said the Delta – Benin and Delta – Sapele – Benin 330kV transmission lines evacuate power from Transcorp Power Limited, Ughelli into the national grid.
TCN said the collapse of tower No 61 on Delta-Benin line makes power evacuation to be only through Delta – Sapele – Benin 330kV transmission line without a second option if that line fails, until the Delta – Benin line is restored.
“TCN has been facing the challenge of repeated attacks by vandals on this axis since December 2018. It had also made formal reports to security operatives and to traditional rulers in the area, including the King of Okpeland and the Ovie of Oghara, who have equally held meetings with their subjects to address the menace but to no avail,” the statement noted.
Meanwhile, the quick response engineering team has assessed the site of the incident to enable them commence repair on the towers which could be completed in four weeks.
The public firm urged host communities to watch over electricity installations in their domain, to forestall the destructive activities of vandals and also urge electricity customers nationwide to report any unusual activities around electrical installations to appropriate authorities.
