TCN highlights difficulties, major threats to transmission towers

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has cited vandalism and insurgency as posing major threats to transmission towers across the country.

The TCN which disclosed this in a statement on Friday at the Environment Reporters/Transmission Company of Nigeria media parley in Abuja, said insinuations that it inflated contracts and thereby increasing price of electricity, were false.

Speaking on the theme: “TCN Programmes and Achievements”, spokesman for the company, Ambrose Sule, noted that “the scourge of insurgency and vandalism threaten transmission towers.”

“The attention of the Management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has been drawn to a publication alleging that specific contracts termed emergencies and were not awarded in line with the procurement guidelines.

“TCN has over 1,80OKM of 330kV and 132kV high voltage transmission lines, and transmission towers traversing the entire nation, and several through very difficult terrains including swamps, forests, areas prone to flooding which cause rapid erosion of tower bases, and natural disasters.

“Also, some of these towers and lines pass through land mines in insurgency-prone areas, which is inevitable as the lines must convey electricity to citizens.

“These difficult terrains negatively impact transmission towers and also make it easy to vandalize the towers and lines underscoring the need for emergency procurement.

“And when these towers are attacked, they must be repaired almost immediately to forestall the total collapse of the tower,” he added.

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