ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
There are strong indications that the public power outage currently experienced by residents in some parts of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, may last three months.
The State Commissioner for Power, Mr Ebitei Tonyon, while explaining the precarious situation some residents found themselves in, gave some impetus to the insinuations.
Tonyon indicated that the blackout in the affected areas, which started about two weeks ago, was caused by alleged vandalism of two electric towers along the Tombia-Amassoma Road.
The commissioner, who made this known during an interview on a radio station in Yenagoa, said the vandals allegedly pulled down the towers after removing their bolts at the base.
The areas thrown into darkness as a result of the vandalism include, Igbogene, Edepie, Akenfa, Okutukutu, Opolo-Epie, Biogbolo-Epie, Obogoro, Amarata and Swali, among others.
He said the vandalised infrastructure carried two power feeders that supply electricity to the affected areas from the state’s transmission centre.
Tonyon stated: “Why we are experiencing this blackout recently is that I got a call last Monday that two towers have been pulled down in Tombia-Amassoma Road (now called Airport Road). So, I immediately went for an inspection with my team and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) staff.
“We discovered that two heavy towers have been pulled down; they (the vandals) loosed the bolts gradually, not only one day, until the towers fell down.
“Now the two towers that fell are the ones that take light from Ahoada in Rivers State to our transmission station. So feeder one and feeder two are totally down on the ground.
“So the whole of Imiringi Road, Tombia-Amassoma Road down to Igbogene; from Edepie down to Igbogene and parts of Etegwe-Edepie roundabout to Isaac Boro Expressway, down to Swali and Obogoro, and some areas like Amarata, Biogbolo-Epie are not going to have electricity until the two towers are replaced.”
Tonyon, however, said his ministry was coordinating meetings with PHEDC officials and other stakeholders to resolve the problem.
When asked how long the residents would wait before the destroyed towers could be fixed, Tonyon said “it