The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says vandalism led to the collapse of Tower T99 along the Ughelli–Benin 330kV transmission line, disrupting power evacuation to the national grid.In a statement, TCN said the incident occurred on March 15, 2026, and was discovered during a routine line patrol at Coconut Village in Effurun Local Government Area of Delta State, following a reported line trip.
According to the company, inspection by its technical team showed that key structural components of the tower had been removed, leading to its collapse. Nearby towers, identified as T100 and T101, were also affected by vandalism but remain standing. TCN said the damage has temporarily affected the evacuation of bulk electricity from Transcorp Power Plc to the national grid through the Benin transmission line.
The company added that it has begun mobilising resources to reconstruct and reinforce the damaged infrastructure to restore normal operations as quickly as possible. TCN warned that vandalism of power installations poses a significant risk to the stability of Nigeria’s electricity transmission system and called on host communities to report suspicious activities around such facilities.
