Vandalism, cause of national grid collapses —TCN

By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE frequent collapse in the national grid that has led to power outages across the country have been attributed to the vandalism of power facilities.

The General Manager of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Charles Iwuamadi stated this in Benin City, Edo State, during a sensitisation programme at Umelu community in Benin City, where expressed worries over illegal erection of structures under high-tension transmission lines.

He said: “Vandalism is directly proportional to the number of system collapses. A greater number of times when we have grid collapse, it is a result of vandalism.

“In the last five years, vandalism has increased by over 30 per cent. If not for how we have been managing the system, the number of collapses would have doubled.”

The TCN boss explained that transmission towers and lines were national assets that formed part of the interconnected grid moving power from one part of the country to another.

He said a single line vandalised would lead to outages in the entire network linked to it.

On the risk of illegal buildings under power lines, Iwuamadi said: “Residing under transmission towers exposes people to high radiation, health hazards, and the danger of instant death if a line snaps and drops.

“Human beings and structures cannot withstand the impact of a 330kV line. It is not only illegal but deadly.”

While noting that demolition of marked structures remained a last resort, the general manager said the company preferred community sensitisation over arrests and punitive measures.

He commended the Umelu community for being one of the most peaceful along the 131-kilometre Benin–Onitsha transmission line, urging the residents to sustain their cooperation.

Sharing the same sentiment, Deputy Commandant Suleiman Mohammed, Head of Critical National Assets Unit, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Edo Command, echoed the warning, stressing that communities had a duty to safeguard government infrastructure.

“Any presence of government facilities in your place should be protected,” he said.

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