BY AKUDORO GLORIA
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed that four towers along the Jos – Gombe 330kV transmission line have been vandalised, leaving residents in parts of Northeast in darkness.
According to the statement by the Company’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, the incident happened at about 3:32pm, Monday 22nd April, 2024.
TCN disclosed that towers discovered to be affected by its engineering crew were towers 288, 289, 290, and 291, revealing that some tower members were carted away and the towers eventually collapsed as a result of the incident.
The Company noted that currently, bulk power supply to Gombe, Yola, and Jalingo Substations have been disrupted, affecting bulk power supply to parts of Yola and Jos Electricity Distribution Companies’ franchise areas.
TCN explained that when the 330kV transmission line tripped, its operators attempted to restore it to service but it tripped again, prompting the dispatch of TCN lines men to trace the line in order to detect and rectify the fault.
“To mitigate the effect of the incident on electricity consumers affected by the incident, TCN is trying to first backfeed Gombe through its 132kV transmission line from Bauchi and subsequently Ashaka, Potiskum, Damaturu, and Billiri/ Savannah.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that supply is restored to the affected areas, while efforts are made to reconstruct the four vandalised towers”, TCN assured.