Vandals destroy more than 20 transformers, steal armoured cables- Enugu DisCo raises alarm

Suspected vandals have attacked more than 20 transformers  and carted away various sizes of electric armoured cables, in the past three weeks, under the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) franchise network within the South-East.

Mr Emeka Ezeh, Head of Corporate Communications, EEDC, made this known in a  statement released on Sunday in Enugu.

According to him, electrical equipment are being targeted by vandals and thieves across the company’s network areas, and there is no day that passes without  EEDC receiving a report of electrical installation being attacked by vandals.

The EEDC’s spokesperson however said that four of the suspected vandals had been apprehended.

He said, “The management of EEDC is committed to working with critical stakeholders to ensure that the elements perpetrating the dastardly act were apprehended and brought to book.

“It has gone so bad that the vandals now go as far as draining transformer oil, even after carting away the armoured cables, a situation which is disheartening,” he said.

“The suspected vandals apprehended had been handed over to the police stations for proper investigation and possible prosecution.

While commending the security personnel, vigilante groups as well as the President-General of communities and their teams for the efforts in apprehending the suspects, Ezeh also charged electricity customers’ under the EEDC to be more involved in securing electrical installations serving them.

He said, “There is need for our customers to be more vigilant in ensuring that electricity installations sited within their neighbourhoods are protected against attacks by these criminal elements in the society.

Ezeh stated that vandals capitalised on the poor availability occasioned by the drop in quantum of power generation experienced in the sector in recent times, to perpetrate the criminal acts.

“We keep committing millions of Naira, restoring vandalised installations and this is no longer sustainable, considering our current financial state,” the EEDC’s spokesperson said.

He also noted that the drop in power supply had adversely affected the company’s daily energy allocation.

EnergyDay’s check showed that Enugu Disco was allocated 258.04Mega Watts(MW) out of 2,635.36MW  shared by the System Operator(SO) to all the 11 DisCos as at Sunday July 3,2022.