Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of six transmission towers along the Apir–Lafia 330kV Transmission Lines I and II, blaming the incident on vandalism that has disrupted electricity supply on the corridor.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement issued on Wednesday, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said towers T125 to T130 collapsed at about 1:15 a.m. on May 30, 2026, during a heavy downpour, resulting in the outage of both transmission lines.
According to the company, operators initially carried out a trial reclosure on Line II at about 2:08 a.m. after the line tripped. However, when the effort proved unsuccessful, a physical inspection of the transmission route was conducted.
The inspection, TCN said, uncovered extensive damage to critical components of the affected towers, confirming that the infrastructure had been vandalised.
“As a result, both Apir–Lafia 330kV Transmission Lines I and II are currently out of service pending the reconstruction of the damaged towers,” the statement said.
TCN disclosed that engineers have been deployed to the site to evaluate the extent of the damage and determine the materials required for the restoration of transmission services along the affected route.
To minimise the impact on consumers, the company said the Lafia 330kV Transmission Station is being temporarily supplied through the Lafia–Jos transmission line. This arrangement is expected to support electricity delivery within the franchise areas of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC).
The company condemned the persistent vandalism of power infrastructure, warning that such criminal acts undermine investments in Nigeria’s electricity transmission network and threaten efforts to improve power supply.
TCN also urged residents and host communities to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities around transmission facilities to security agencies or the nearest TCN office.
According to the company, safeguarding national grid infrastructure requires collective action to ensure the stability and reliability of electricity supply across the country.
