The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has confirmed the vandalisation of six transmission towers along the Apir-Lafia 330kV transmission corridor in Nasarawa State, a development that has disrupted power supply to parts of the North-Central region.
TCN disclosed this in a statement issued by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, revealing that the affected towers, T125 to T130, on the Apir-Lafia 330kV Transmission Lines I and II collapsed following acts of vandalism. According to the company, the incident occurred in the early hours of May 30, 2026, during a heavy downpour.
“The collapse occurred at about 1:15 a.m. on 30th May 2026 during a heavy downpour. Trial reclosure of the line was made at 2:08 a.m. following the initial tripping and failed,” the statement said. TCN explained that a subsequent physical inspection of the transmission route uncovered extensive damage to critical components of the six towers, confirming that the collapse was caused by deliberate vandalism.
“The tripping of the lines prompted a physical line trace to determine the fault, which revealed damage to critical components of towers T125 to T130, confirming acts of vandalism on the affected sections of the transmission corridor,” the company stated. As a result of the damage, the Apir-Lafia 330kV Transmission Lines I and II have been taken out of service pending reconstruction of the affected infrastructure.
The company said engineers have already been deployed to assess the level of destruction and determine the materials required to commence emergency repairs and restore normal electricity transmission. TCN, however, noted that efforts are being made to minimise the impact of the outage on electricity consumers.
According to the statement, power is currently being rerouted through the Lafia-Jos 330kV transmission line as a temporary measure to maintain supply to customers served by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC).
Meanwhile, the transmission company condemned the persistent attacks on power infrastructure across the country, describing the trend as a major threat to national development and investments in the electricity sector.
TCN appealed to residents of host communities and members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities around transmission installations to security agencies and relevant authorities.
“We appeal to host communities and the general public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around transmission installations to security agencies or the nearest TCN office. Collective action is essential to protect national grid assets and ensure a reliable power supply,” the statement added.
