The federal government says insurgents are destroying power
lines in the north-east, which is affecting the supply of electricity in the
zone.
Over more than 10 years, communities in the north-east have
been attacked by insurgents, and several power installations have been
destroyed.
As of September 2021, the federal government put the cost of
vandalised transmission equipment in Maiduguri, the Borno capital, at N1.7
billion.
Abubakar Aliyu, minister for power, while briefing
journalists on the outcome of the federal executive council (FEC) meeting on
Wednesday, said the constant attacks on power lines in the north-east have
affected the ability of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to power the
zone.
He said after vandalised installations are restored, the
insurgents attack the equipment again.
Aliyu explained that the government has now been forced to
design alternative but less efficient ways to supply electricity to the
affected areas.
He also said TCN officials have not been able to access
vandalised power infrastructure in Niger state because of insecurity in the
area.
“We were able to take
electricity supply through an old line of 33KV which we repaired and restored
and were able to take 10 megawatts to Maiduguri over 130 kilometres on a 33
single circuit. We restored that around three to four months or thereabouts,”
he said.
“So, they’re enjoying it but very little. By the time the
electricity reaches Maiduguri, it will drop to six or seven megawatts because
of losses along the way.
“As you are also aware, the [line] taking power to Maiduguri
was vandalised by insurgents. We tried a number of times to restore it, but
they will go back and pull down the towers.
“So, we now decided, in the meantime, to take electricity
through the 33 KVA which they are enjoying but not as they may like it to be.
It’s being rationed around the time.
“We are currently
procuring another 33 double circuit new ones to Maiduguri along the same route.
The idea is if someone tampers with it, it’s easy to restore it within a day or
two, unlike the bigger one which is the 330 which takes weeks or months to
restore because it’s in the bush.
“As it is now, even the one that we have installed, we have
been doing hide and seek. Sometimes, they will pull one or two poles. We will
repair and this is why we are doing this endeavour by the roadside. It is just
to keep on restoring.
“But currently, we have returned the contractor to restore
the main 330 KVA that was vandalised some time back. In order to have enough
electricity for Damaturu and environs — from that substation in Damaturu and
take some to Maiduguri — this project seeks to boost the capacity of Damaturu
substation.”
Aliyu added that security agencies have also been working on efforts to check the attacks at flashpoints in the affected areas.
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