By CONSTANCE ATHEKAME

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says Tower T99 along the Ughelli/Benin 330 Kilo Volt (kV) Transmission Line collapsed as a result of vandalism.

Mrs Ndidi Mbah, TCN’S General Manager, Public Affairs, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said that the incident was discovered during a line patrol at Coconut Village, Effurun Local Government Area, Warri, Delta State, following a line trip.

Mbah said that upon inspection by TCN’s Linesman, it was observed that the fallen tower had some of its bracing members vandalised and carted away, which led to its collapse.

She said that the adjoining towers, T100 and T101, were also vandalised although they remained standing.

“As a result, there is a temporary disruption in the evacuation of bulk power supply from Transcorp Power Plc to the national grid through the Benin 330kV transmission line.

“However, TCN has commenced the mobilisation of resources to facilitate the reconstruction, restoration, and reinforcement of the vandalized towers and affected transmission line as soon as possible.

“We reiterate that vandalism poses a serious threat to the stability of the nation’s transmission system and urge host communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around transmission installations to security operatives or the nearest TCN office,” she said.

According to her, the fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure is a collective responsibility.

“We call on all stakeholders to join hands in protecting these critical national assets from further attacks. (NAN)