The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a major power outage in Abuja’s Central Area and surrounding districts, following the theft of critical underground cables.
According to the company, the vandals targeted the 132kV transmission line and underground cables, severely disrupting the power supply to the nation’s capital.
A statement by TCN’s General Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, on Friday, stated that the incident occurred around the Millennium Park area, where 40 meters of 1x500mm² XLPE conductors on two 132kV transmission lines were stolen.
She noted that cables transport bulk electricity to TCN’s Central Area transmission substation, which supplies power to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) for onward distribution to customers.
“The incident, which was carried out around the Menillum Park axis of Abuja, has affected over 60% of the power supply to Abuja as the vandals carted away 40 meters of 1x500mm² XLPE conductors on the 2 numbers 132kV transmission lines
“Consequently, areas experiencing power outages include Maitama, Wuse, Jabi, Lifecamp, Asokoro, Utako, Mabushi, and parts of Presidential Villa,” she said.
To this end, she said TCN’s engineers have been mobilised to the site of the incident to repair the vandalised cables and urged Nigerians to be vigilant in observing and reporting suspicious activities to security operatives.
