Power outages are affecting some areas of Kano and Kaduna states following the vandalism of two towers along the 330kV Shiroro–Kaduna transmission lines 1 and 2.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced the damage, which was reported by its Shiroro Regional Office on Friday.
In a statement, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, indicated that the company was arranging to deploy a newly acquired “emergency restoration system” to the site while plans were being made to reconstruct the damaged towers.
Although TCN did not directly link the vandalism to bandits, there are suspicions of their involvement, particularly in light of the recent killing of 13 farmers in the Shiroro community.
According to TCN, the 330kV transmission line 1 tripped first, followed shortly by the second line while efforts were ongoing to reclose the first. This prompted the urgent mobilisation of local vigilantes to patrol the lines.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria announces that two towers along its 330kV Shiroro–Kaduna transmission lines 1 and 2 have been vandalised, damaging parts of both transmission lines,” the statement read.
The damage was confirmed to towers T133 and T136, with cables severely compromised at multiple points.
TCN also disclosed that an aerial survey has been conducted in collaboration with security operatives, given the area’s vulnerability to banditry, which poses a significant threat to TCN installations and personnel.
“Arrangements are in top gear to deploy the newly procured ’emergency restoration system’ to the site, pending the reconstruction of the damaged towers,” the statement added.
In the interim, engineers have implemented temporary measures to supply bulk power to the Kaduna and Kano regions via the 330kV Kaduna–Jos transmission line.
“The vandalised Shiroro–Kaduna 330kV lines 1 and 2 are critical lines for transmitting bulk power to parts of the North West region, with each line capable of carrying 600MW.
The vandalism of the towers and transmission lines presents a significant challenge to bulk power transmission in that area,” TCN stated.
“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,” the statement concluded.