A Prolonged Blackout Is Expected in Bayelsa After Vandals Destroy 13 Transmission Towers

The Transmission Company of Nigeria said that 13 transmission towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuit transmission line had been vandalized, meaning that Bayelsa State will experience a protracted period of blackout.

According to a statement released on Wednesday by Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, certain localities in Rivers State would also be impacted by the blackout.

When a team headed by Emmanuel Akpa, the general manager of the Port Harcourt Transmission region, visited the location, they discovered that all 13 towers, ranging from T52 to T64, were impacted.

Nine of the 13 vandalized towers have totally collapsed, according to Mbah, and the remaining four could do so at any time.

According to the statement, on August 12, 2024, the Youth President of the Ukpeli Community in Rivers State reported the incidence for the first time.

The 132kV double circuit transmission line between Ahoada and Yenagoa, which provides power to the whole Bayelsa State, is “essential for evacuating power from the Ahoada Transmission Substation to the Yenagoa Substation,” it continued.

“It might take several months for TCN to finish rebuilding and stringing the towers to restore power supply to the state, given the extent of the towers’ destruction and the ongoing work on previously vandalized transmission towers.”

Sule Abdulaziz, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of TCN, called the incident “a national disaster” and urged the governments of the states of Rivers and Bayelsa to help TCN stop the vandalism of its facilities, which he described as “increasingly alarming and overwhelming.”

In response to the destruction and subsequent collapse of towers T97 to T99 on the same line route on July 29, 2024, Abdulaziz stated that TCN had “recently responded, with work still ongoing to rebuild the vandalised towers.”

“Despite these continuing efforts, the recent vandalism of the 13 towers presents a significant challenge,” the statement continued. “In addition, a new contract was recently awarded for the reinforcement of towers 19–31 on the Ahoada-Yenagoa line, where tower members had been vandalized and stolen.”

The 13 vandalized towers are said to be spread over multiple villages in Rivers State, including Okobe in Ahoada East, Emezhi 1 in Ahoada West, and Mbiama in Ahoada West Local Government Areas, in addition to the Igbogene community in Bayelsa State.