Some parts of Kaduna state have been thrown into darkness after the collapse of a major electricity transmission line belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.
In a statement by the TCN’s spokesman, Ndidi Mbah, the incident occurred at Tower Number 7 along the Kaduna Town Lines One and Two in the Rigasa area of Igabi Local Government.
Mbah stated that the collapse, which happened after a heavy downpour and windstorm, was further worsened by acts of vandalism, as critical structural members of the tower were discovered to have been removed.
According to him, as a result, bulk power supply to several load centres in Kaduna South was disrupted, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without electricity.
“The tower collapse caused a cut in the transmission of bulk power to some Kaduna Electric distribution load centres, particularly the ones through which they supply some parts of Kaduna South.
“While inspecting the site of the incident, TCN’s linemen discovered that vandals had carted away some of the tower members, making it susceptible to collapse.
“However, to ensure that the impact of the incident is curtailed, TCN has advised Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company to link its 33kV Mogadishu feeder with 33kV Abakwa feeder to enable electricity customers in Mogadishu to have access to power supply,” the statement said.
TCN has, however, said that other parts of Kaduna metropolis, including Kinkinau, Yan Tukwane, Kabala West, Unguwan Muazu, and Kaduna North, remain unaffected.
It added that its team of engineers have moved to the site to clear the wreckage and commence the process of re-erecting the tower.
To cushion the impact of the outage, TCN said that it has directed Kaduna Electric to link its 33kV Mogadishu feeder with the 33kV Abakwa feeder to restore partial supply to affected areas.