Barely 48 hours after the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) restored bulk power to the capital of Borno State, Maiduguri, and its environs, Boko Haram terrorists have cut off another section of the 330 kilovolts Damaturu-to-Maiduguri transmission line, plunging the area into another bout of darkness.
A senior official of TCN confirmed in a text message on Saturday evening that “after concerted effort by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to restore power to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, insurgents bomb tower 152 and 153 on Damaturu – Maiduguri (Molai) 330kv line at around 5:56am on 27th March 2021, putting Maiduguri and its environs out of power supply again.”
There was wild jubilation on Wednesday when the power was restored by the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) after TCN restored the delivery of bulk power to the DisCo.
That was nearly two months after insurgents attacked the 330kV Damaturu to Maiduguri transmission line around the Jakana area of the town on January 26, 2021, destroying three towers and cutting off the capital from the national power grid.
TCN had on Thursday said it restored the power using temporary 33kV high tension poles as a by-pass transmission line while its engineers continue to reconstruct the three vandalised towers.
The Managing Director/CEO of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, had said while work was ongoing on the temporary transmission line in the month of February, 2021, five out of the TCN engineers working on the line were rushed to the hospital after their vehicle stepped on a buried explosive device by insurgents.
Despite the incident, he said TCN engineers re-mobilized to site and completed the temporary transmission line.
Presently, work is still ongoing on the towers.
He had assured that work on the transmission towers that were vandalized will be completed before this latest incident occurred early Saturday morning.
This story first appeared in Daily Trust, https://dailytrust.com/maiduguri-in-blackout-again-as-insurgents-cut-power-line
