Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, has raised an alarm that vandals of electricity installations are threatening the efforts of the utility company to stabilise electricity supply in the country.

The management of PHCN Olorunsogo Power Station, near Papalanto in Ewelooro Local Government area of Ogun State, disclosed last week that it caught four vandals at the switch yard of the power station after they had successfully vandalized the copper wires used for the earthing of the plant.

The management also claimed that vandals had successfully carted away close to 500 copper cables valued at over N35million from the gantries in the switch yard of the Olorunsogo 720MW and 350MW power stations in the recent past before they were caught by military men posted to the station to maintain security.

In a statement made available to Vanguard, the management noted that the activities of the vandals have seriously compromised the protection of the switch yard against electrocution and rendered it unsafe for workers. Thus, the power station, which was commissioned at the twilight of the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo may be shut down for the replacement of the damaged equipment.

The vandals were said to have confessed to the crime and disclosed that they normally scaled through the fence of the power station to gain access to the switch yard. They revealed that the stolen copper cables were normally sold to a receiver at Papalanto, who in turn, disposed them at the Alaba Market in Lagos.

Spokesman for the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company plant, Mr. Mr. Tokunbo Peters, who condemned the activities of the vandals, also described them as economic saboteur.

He said the incidence of vandalism remained a great disservice to the intention of the Federal Government to stabilising power supply in the country, especially as the country was still grappling with severe load shedding due to inadequate generation capacity.