Again, Blackout In Bayelsa, Rivers As Vandals Collapse 4 Towers – TCN

Residents of Bayelsa and Rivers States are facing another round of electricity blackouts as vandals have collapsed four transmission towers, along Owerri-Ahoada 132kV Double Circuit line.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which made the known, said that four of its towers along the Owerri-Ahoada 132kV Double Circuit line were vandalised, resulting in their collapse.

This is as the company said it has inaugurated a Network Monitoring System Development Committee, in a strategic effort to enhance grid stability and mitigate power system disturbances.

TCN’s spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, said the vandals compromised  towers, T171 to T174, which led to their collapse at approximately 6:23 pm on Tuesday, 11th March and were discovered after a failed trial reclosure that prompted a subsequent patrol.

She said investigations confirmed that the towers’ collapse was a direct result of vandalism. This incident has disrupted power supply to the Ahoada, Gbarain, and Yenagoa 132kV transmission substations, affecting some parts of Rivers State and the entire Bayelsa State.

According to her, a team of engineers, led by the general manager of the Port Harcourt Region, Emmanuel Akpa has visited the site to assess the extent of the damage. TCN is making frantic efforts to mobilise personnel and materials for the repair of the vandalised towers so that the bulk power supply can be restored to the affected states.

“We condemn this act of vandalism, which continues to undermine efforts made to put in place a robust transmission grid. We are again calling on host communities to join us in the urgent fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure,” Mbah stated.

Recall that residents of Bayelsa endured a four-month blackout that began in July 2024, attributed to similar acts of vandalism. Many locals reported severe impacts on their daily lives and businesses, with some spending exorbitant amounts on fuel for generators due to the lack of electricity.

The previous blackout in Bayelsa State began on July 29, 2024, and lasted for four months, ending on November 30, 2024, when the TCN restored power after repairing the damaged transmission towers.

Meanwhile, the Network Monitoring System Development Committee’s primary objective is to design and implement an advanced monitoring system equipped with integrated data analysis and real-time operational awareness capabilities to ensure optimisation of generation and transmission resources in our grid operations.

At the committee’s inauguration, the executive director, Independent System Operations (ISO), Nafisat Ali highlighted the importance of this initiative. She noted that the System Operator is responsible for managing the entire power system network, which includes planning and monitoring operations. However, the current manual operation poses challenges in terms of visibility and tracking the activities of various stakeholders.

Ali mentioned that the increasing complexity of the power system necessitates the development of a comprehensive Network Monitoring System.

The committee chairman, Ojo Thomas Oladeji, who is the assistant general manager (Research) at ISO, noted that TCN’s in-house engineers have proficiently maintained the system with locally developed solutions. He also mentioned that the committee intends to leverage the capabilities of Phase Measuring Units (PMU) along with existing IoT data to meet its goals.

The eight-member committee will employ domestic technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), to develop the Network Monitoring System. This system will be operational prior to the completion of the ongoing work on the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System and will subsequently serve as a backup.

The comprehensive deployment of IoT throughout the grid network, coupled with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools across generation, transmission, and distribution data processing, will significantly enhance the project’s success.