By CONSTANCE ATHEKAME

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says two towers along its 330Kilo Volt (KV) Shiroro?Kaduna transmission lines 1 and 2, have been damaged by suspected vandals.

Mrs Ndidi Mbah, TCN?S General Manager, Public Affairs, said this in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

Mbah said reports from the Shiroro Regional office of TCN, stated that the 330kV transmission line 1, tripped off first, followed shortly by the second line.

She said that as efforts were still ongoing to reclose the first line, local vigilantes were prompted to patrol the lines.

?This led to the discovery of two damaged towers, towers T13300 and tower T 136, with their cables badly damaged at several points.

?Arrangements are in top gear to deploy the newly procured ?emergency restoration system? to the site, pending the reconstruction of the damaged towers.

?TCN has also conducted an aerial survey in collaboration with security operatives, given the area?s vulnerability to banditry, which poses a significant threat to both TCN installations and personnel,? she said.

According to her, in the interim, TCN engineers have implemented a temporary measure to supply bulk power to the Kaduna and Kano regions via the 330kV Kaduna-Jos transmission line.

Mbah said that the vandalised Shiroro ? Kaduna 330kV lines 1 and 2, are vital lines through which bulk power is transmitted to parts of the Northwest region, with each line capable of carrying 600 Mega Watts (MW).

She said that the vandalism of the towers and transmission lines presented a significant challenge to bulk power transmission in that axis.

?We are however committed to re-erecting the towers and restringing the transmission lines to restore bulk power transmission through both 330kV power transmission lines,? she said. (NAN)