The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed that parts of the Presidential Villa and approximately 60% of Abuja are experiencing power outages following the theft of a 132-kilovolt underground cable.
In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, TCN revealed that the vandalism occurred near the Millennium Park area in Abuja, where vandals made away with 40 meters of 1×500 mm² XLPE conductors from two 132kV transmission lines.
Impact of the Vandalism
The stolen cables are critical for transmitting bulk electricity to TCN’s Central Area Transmission Substation, which supplies power to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) for distribution to several areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“The vandalised 132kV underground cable transports bulk electricity to TCN’s 132kV Central Area Transmission Substation, which then supplies power through eight distribution feeders to AEDC for onward supply to its customers in Central Area and environs,” the statement noted.
Affected Areas
TCN disclosed that the development has caused power outages in key locations, including:
Maitama
Wuse
Jabi
Life Camp
Asokoro
Utako
Mabushi
Parts of the Presidential Villa
Ongoing Repairs
TCN assured the public that its engineers have been deployed to the site to repair the damaged cables and restore electricity supply as quickly as possible.
Previous Power Issues
This incident follows a recent outage blamed on faulty 132-kilovolt transmission lines between Katampe and the AT5 Central Area Transmission Station, as reported by AEDC.
TCN reiterated its commitment to addressing the situation and urged the public to report suspicious activities to curb further acts of vandalism that disrupt critical infrastructure.