By Tina Amanda
The General Manager, of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Port Harcourt region, Dr. Thomas Inugonum, has expressed concern over the incessant vandalism of power infrastructures.
Speaking to a journalist in Port Harcourt, Dr Inugonum lamented that the transmission lines have continued to suffer a series of attacks from vandals who keep removing the tower parts making transportation difficult.
He called on the federal government to deploy more security agencies to protect government infrastructures, stressing that tampering with high-tension cables is a risk to human lives.
“The transmission sector is a very important sector that without it there is nothing you can do in the power chain. Many a time we suffered from people attacking the transmission lines destroying it, removing part of the towers making us not to have transportation.
“I have always advocated that we need security agencies to protect the government infrastructure. It is not something we can do alone. Am calling on the federal government to send security personnel to safeguard our transmission lines.
“I remember sometime I went to the field with my colleagues into the bush to see what caused the transmission lines that have failed. We saw some hoodlums attacking the gas pipeline as well as our own transmission lines, if we were not lucky that day, they would have shut us.
“There are some of our stations that have already cut the earth conductors for big transformers that cost almost eight hundred thousand (N800,000) naira and when these conductors are severed, technically that machine is floating and it can go into flames anytime”.
“When people are doing these evil things they are not thinking because in the process they will kill so many people. Once that tower rests in houses, if it is 100 houses nobody will come out, is as bad as that”.
He urged the press to help create awareness about keeping the transmission lines safe at all times.
These are the past three years, these are projects you do not do in one year because it is not enough for procurement. It is a project that takes about three to four years.
Assistant General Manager, Port Harcourt Sub Region, Ben Ezemobi, said they are faced with the challenge of operating with lower capacity corridors and old conductors, stressing that the management is currently working tirelessly to boost efficient power supply in the state.
‘The corridor through which we get supply to the station the conductors on that line are old conductors they do not carry enough capacity to take care of the transformers available here
The loading on that line does not go beyond 100 MVA, but we are expecting at least 250 MVA and to make sure that the new transformers being installed are properly taken care of, the management has embarked on reconductoring this corridor from Afam to Port Harcourt mess.
“With new conductors that can carry higher capacity by God’s grace at the end of the installations Rivers State will have enough to take care of their power needs”.
Ezemobi expressed optimism that with 500MVA, Rivers State will no longer lack any power supply.
According to our Correspondent the Port Harcourt region of the transmission company covers Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Abia, Bayelsa, and Rivers States.
