How vandalism frustrates 7,000MW electricity investments
…FG’s incremental power threatened
Vandalisation of oil and gas pipelines and power infrastructures have impeded development of the power sector. The frightening spate of the act of sabotage has cost the power sector billions of naira in repairs while threatening the over 7,000 megawatts (MW ) electricity generation and transmission capacity in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Our reporter in this piece examines some cases of vandalism and how they have affected the sector’s growth, especially on critical intervention projects handled by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP).
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Unending tale assets vandalism
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Vandalisation threatens government expansion efforts in the power sector. Efforts are duplicated, time is lost and new funds would have to be provided to replace the vandalised lines.
According to records, power infrastructures vandalism has continued in Nigeria from the late 1990s. Notable among these was the disastrous sabotage at Lambatta village near Suleja in Niger State some 22 years ago. Precisely in April 1996, two towers hosting 132kv transmission lines supplying electricity to Abuja and Suleja were vandalised. The towers collapsed, throwing a section of the country into five-day blackout.
Equally, in December 2002, towers 114 and 117 along BeninIkeja West 330kv line 1 were vandalised. Towers 217 and 220 conductors and insulators on the same route suffered and it greatly reduced power supply to Lagos and Benin, for several days.
In August 2015, a 132/330KV transmission tower in Oronta village of Abia State valued at N40m was hewed down. This transmission line helps deliver over 1,390mw from three NIPP plants including the Alaoji, Calabar and the 330mw Egbema plant in Imo State. It was hacked down even after the community was duly compensated on obtaining a Right of Way (RoW) for the over 200km line to Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom. NDPHC had to replace the hacked tower before the line was commissioned after several delays.
Also, at Ubakala, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, armed men on May 17, 2015, invaded the construction site of Energo Nigeria Limited, where a 330KVA transmission line project was ongoing and carted away 10 drums of aluminium conductors weighing about 40 tonnes.
Following an attack by militants in 2016 on the BonnyOkrika crude supply line to the Port Harcourt refinery and the Escravos-Warri crude supply line to the Kaduna refinery, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) shutdown the two refineries.
The pipeline vandalism affected supply of electricity as it worsened with a loss of about 800 megawatts (MW) after the blasting of the EscravosLagos Pipeline System (ELPS) supplying gas to over six power plants in the west.
The sabotage on the gas facility disrupted the sale and supply of 160 million metre standard cubic feet per day (MMSCD) of gas to operators of electricity generation facilities and a cut in electricity supply from the affected power plants.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced early this year that the strategic 132KV double circuit transmission lines at Eziama, Enugu State, being constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), was destroyed by vandals on February 20, 2018.
The vandals carted away two spans of conductors, insulators and other accessories. The equipment were removed from the towers and transmission lines through which the company planned to feed the new 9th Mile two units of 60MVA 132/33kV substation and the Nsukka 30MVA sub stations.
The vandalised Double Circuit (DC) lines delayed the pace of work on the transmission line and impeded prompt energising of two transmission substations in the state. The vandals had also destroyed four towers at the Alulu Nike transmission line in the state.
Power assets infrastructures are central to the rapid socioeconomic development of any country. Records show that vandalism of electricity facilities and equipment accounts for over 60 per cent of blackouts recorded across the country. These consequently result in intermittent service delivery.
The high-voltage transmission power lines strung from support towers managed by TCN form the backbone of the nation’s electric national power grid. However, many of these 158,000 miles of lines, supported by nearly 800,000 towers, run through isolated areas as they deliver electricity from generating plants to cities making them vulnerable to vandalism.
The most recent case was the complete hacking of a transmission tower at Mashi near Daura town in Katsina State which is being investigated by the Department of State Services (DSS). Daily Trust after visiting the site recently reports that electric chain saw was used to hack down the tower showing clear signs of sabotage.
Contacted for a reaction, the spokesperson for TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, said the firm suspected sabotage and had alerted the DSS which is progressing with investigation to nabbing the suspected vandals and saboteurs.
Vandalism takes many forms
The agitation for resource control by the Niger-Delta region of the country took a violent dimension and resulted in an increasing rate of power assets vandalism. The implementation of an amnesty programme in 2010, and the positive engagement of NigerDelta youth in productive ventures, reduced but have not eliminated vandalism in the area. Vandalism however is not restricted to any particular region of the country. It happens all around.
Vandalism is now been driven by the soaring values of copper and aluminium in the international metals market due to increased world market demand fuelled by China and India’s growth in industrialization. Consequently, the vandals now operate in well-organized syndicates and accumulate large volumes of stolen materials which they eventually consign for export as scrap.
Transformer oil, copper and aluminium are also targets of the vandals. Stolen transformer oil are reportedly mixed with diesel and sold as fuel; they are said to be used as fuel for industrial furnaces and as cooling for welding sets; they can also be mixed with vegetable oil and sold as cooking oil. How heartless.
Way forward
Studies have shown a preponderance of male teenagers engaging in vandalism. Apart from the security agencies, there is need for community policing in areas where there are critical infrastructures.
Government responded with the establishment of the Nigeria Police Anti-Electricity Vandalism Response Squad (AEVRS) to contain the menace.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) are also collaborating in the fight against vandals. The corps had stepped up surveillance around electricity installations in the country to stem the tide of vandalism of the critical national asset.
Security measures must include the use of fixed human guard posts, security patrols, vigilante groups and trained security dogs to alert residents of any strange occurrence or intruder within the guarded space and quickly contact the police.
There is also the need for deployment of electronic gadgets, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and pipeline surveillance system to tackle the sabotage.
There is also an urgent need for technology referred to as Power Line Vandalism Detector System. It is a highvoltage transmission line antitampering electronic security device specially designed to remotely monitor and protect the lines against vandals.
The system, which operates like Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, detects when the transmission line is vandalised and as well when the vandals enter the vicinity where the transmission line tower is installed.
The system at the same time communicates wirelessly to the power line operators and the law enforcement using radio frequency (RF) signal network.
The National Assembly (NASS) must intervene through legislative actions to limit the sales of electricity equipment and materials and imposing harsh penalties on vandals of national assets. The provision of street lights will also help in reducing the menace of vandalism in the city.
The power sector efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is progressing fast, many facilities are being completed with about 90 projects commissioned this year by TCN and over 100 by the NDPHC under its NIPP programme.
Vandalism of the efforts to provide power to the millions of Nigerians who desperately need electricity is a high crime. As Nigerians yearn daily for improved and steady power supply, there are still enemies within, unpatriotic elements hell-bent on sabotaging government power assets.
A recent poll result released by NOIPolls Limited indicated a general level of apathy towards public property in Nigeria. As patriotism matters, every Nigerian must be extra vigilant and be willing to expose the vandals of our nation’s power assets. We must report acts of vandalism to prevent the entire nation from falling into darkness.
The cost of replacing vandalised installations runs in millions of naira. Apart from obstructing power supply, vandalism poses a serious threat to investments by investors local and international.