Some angry youth in the late hours of Friday shut down the Afam power station belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) resulting to total blackout in Rivers State.
Chioma Aninwe, Manager, Corporate Communications, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED), confirmed the incident to The Voice in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
She said that the youth, who forcefully took control of the facility, had demanded 24-hour electricity supply to their communities in Oyibo Local Government Area of Rivers.
“The youths known as Oyibo Youths, shut down Afam Transmission lines around 21:04 p.m. on Friday night, thereby, throwing the entire Port Harcourt and Rivers state into darkness.
“The youths took laws into their hands and marched in their numbers to the transmission station, forcing the operators to shut down supply without observing safety measures.
“This ugly incident has become the order of the day due to their acclaimed inadequate power supply to their communities,” she said.
Mrs Aninwe explained that the electricity shortages being experienced in the area was due to load shedding introduced to accommodate every customer.
She said that PHED had held several meetings with leadership of Oyibo communities to enlighten them on the load allocation formula from the national grid.
