Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced yesterday that it lost one of its 330kV transmission lines from Sapele to Ughelli in Delta state and 12 towers along the line route to a fire incident caused by a petrol tanker.
According to the General Manager, Public Affairs of the company, Seun Olagunju, the tanker caught fire between towers 88 and 89 at about 9:42am on Sunday.
“The fire caused the melting and snapping of all of the line conductors between the two towers causing a loss of balance along the transmission line, swinging of towers which resulted in their eventual collapse,” she said, adding that the Tower 81 did not collapse but was bent by the incident.
The loaded petrol tanker, which she said fell and caught fire at Ogborode Junction, near Warri in Delta state, destroyed the 330kV Sapele-Ughelli transmission line, bringing TCN’s towers number 82 to 93 along its route down.
It said with the collapse of the 12 towers it had temporarily lost power evacuation from that line as all power generated by Delta and Sapele Power Stations would now only be evacuated through the second 500mw capacity 330kV transmission line from Ughelli to Benin.
Olagunju assured however that despite the transmission limitation, the second 330kV transmission line from Ughelli to Benin and the 132kV transmission lines one and two from Benin to Ughelli, would adequately evacuate power generated from the power stations to Benin.
The general manger however pleaded with vehicle drivers especially ones that hull highly inflammable items such as petrol to drive with care and also to ensure that their vehicles were in good order always to avoid such massive losses to the company and the nation.
She also pledged TCN’s effort to do all it can to reconstruct the 330kV transmission line as quickly as possible to check further losses to the nation.
