*forum stresses need for residents to verify safety zones from transmission lines and towers before building….
By Olawale Lamina
The Transmission Company of Nigeria ,TCN, has held a sensitization programme with stakeholders in Owerri, Imo State, towards strengthening enlightenment on infrastructure security, combat vandalism and soil excavation around transmission towers as well to educating communities on statutory Right-of-Way (RoW) regulations.
A statement by the Company’s General Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah stated that while speaking at the event, the Assistant General Manager (AGM), Technical Services, Port Harcourt Region, Dr. Raymond Chika Ubani, described TCN as the vital link transporting bulk electricity from generation to distribution.
Mbah quoted Dr. Ubani as saying, “simply speaking, we are like the trailer that goes to a company to carry manufactured goods to a warehouse where distributors then come to take the goods for distribution”.
The AGM, Technical Services, Port Harcourt Region urged traditional rulers and youth groups to act as guardians by maintaining active vigilance, and report suspicious activities around transmission installations.
On his part, the Principal Manager, Owerri Work Centre, Engr. Nnaemeka Aninwe, while addressing safety compliance, warned community members against patronizing scrap metal dealers who purchase and resell vandalized tower members. He also cautioned residents against using tower bases as refuse places, warning that the accumulation of waste generates corrosive chemical reactions that degrade the tower members. This, he said, can compromise the integrity of the tower legs.
Engr. Aninwe pleaded with residents to verify safety zones from transmission lines and towers before building or construction, he noted that the statutory Right of Way limits from the line, is 15 meters on both sides for 132kV transmission lines, and 30 meters on both sides for 330kV transmission lines.
Responding on behalf of the communities, the Deputy Chairman of Owerri Municipal Council, Hon. Lucky Abaraonye, assured TCN that the fight against vandalism is being carried out through a grassroot security architecture that the state government rolled out over the past six years in the state. He disclosed that the state government has deployed trained, 15-man security teams equipped with vehicles across the 21 autonomous communities in the area.
According to the TCN, at the end of the sensitization programme over 100 participants pledged to cooperate with the Company and security agencies to protect the transmission infrastructure within their communities.
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