Power Crisis Looms as Vandals Destroy Six TCN Towers Along Apir–Lafia Line in Nasarawa
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed that vandals destroyed six transmission towers along the critical Apir–Lafia 330kV transmission line in Nasarawa State, causing significant disruptions to electricity supply in parts of the country.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, the incident occurred at about 1:15 a.m. on May 30 during a heavy downpour.
Mbah explained that after the initial tripping of the line, a trial reclosure of Line II was attempted at 2:08 a.m. but was unsuccessful, prompting engineers to conduct a physical inspection of the transmission corridor.
The inspection revealed extensive damage to key components of transmission towers T125 to T130, confirming acts of vandalism along the affected section of the network.
As a result, both Apir–Lafia 330kV Transmission Lines I and II remain out of service pending the reconstruction of the damaged towers.
TCN said its engineers have been deployed to the site to assess the extent of the destruction and determine the materials required for the restoration of normal power transmission along the corridor.
To mitigate the impact of the outage, the company disclosed that the Lafia 330kV Transmission Station is currently being supplied through the Lafia–Jos transmission line as a temporary measure.
The arrangement is aimed at reducing the effect of the disruption on electricity consumers within the franchise areas of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC).
TCN condemned the recurring attacks on power infrastructure, warning that such acts undermine years of investment in the electricity sector and threaten the reliability of power supply across the country.
The company called on host communities and members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities around transmission facilities to security agencies or the nearest TCN office.
“Collective action is essential to safeguard national grid assets and ensure a stable and reliable electricity supply,” the statement added.
