* MD says it has 8,500MW transmission capacity
By Obaike Odihue
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said it has capacity presently to transmit 8,500MW of electricity.
Regrettably, however, Nigeria’s electricity generation capacity stands at about 5,800MW currently, which is said to be the highest generation capacity.ever attained in the country.
This revelation contradicts the general impression being created over the years that power transmission, not generation has been the bane of poor electricity supply in the country.
TCN also said it is progressively expanding its transmission capacity from the national grid in moves to steadily boost power supply in the country, targeting 10,000MW in less than two years.
TCN’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sule Abdulaziz made the disclosure on Thursday, when he featured in the “Meet the Press” weekly briefing organised by the Presidential Media Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He attributed modest gains by TCN to the sustained encouragement from the Federal Government through the Ministry of Power and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He further highlighted key achievement of TCN which includes installation and commissioning of 66 power transformers, completion of new transmission substations and re-conducting of transmission line projects.
He listed other progress as completion of 6,000MVA worth of projects under the World Bank sponsored projects and 76.47% reduction in grid disturbances over the past five years.
On ongoing and future projects, the MD said TCN is currently working on the World Bank funded SCADA project, which is 69% complete and will enhance real-time monitoring and improve grid management and efficiency.
He said the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is enforcing the Free Governor Control to improve grid stability and reduce transmission losses.
TCN has also introduced an enhanced maintenance regime, including regular inspections, preventive maintenance, and swift repairs.
He however admitted some of the challenges disrupting power supplies such as insurgency and the activities of vandals, especially in the North and South-South as well as in other areas of the country at different times.
To address these lapses, he said TCN is collaborating with the Office of the National Security Advicer (ONSA) and security agencies including local vigilantes to secure power installations nationwide.
“The power sector recorded a new and unprecedented peak generation of 5,801.84 megawatts of electricity on March 4, 2025, at 21:15 hours. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) efficiently evacuated this bulk power, to distribution load centers nationwide.
“With the numerous TCN transmission projects completed in the last two years and new ones currently underway as well as the 8,500MW current evacuation capability of the company, I can confidently state that in less than two years from now, the Transmission Company of Nigeria will conveniently evacuate 10,000 megawatts generated power,” Abdulaziz stated.
He noted that expanding the transmission grid and the consequent increase in capacity to efficiently wheel bulk electricity could not have been possible without the sustained encouragement from the Federal Government through the Ministry of Power.
According to the MD, the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is on course, and before long, Nigerians will have every reason to celebrate the progress in the power sector.
“We are immensely proud of the governments’ commitment to moving the power sector forward. All hands are on deck to ensure we continue delivering on our mandate and providing Nigerians with the best possible service.
“Among our major breakthroughs is the installation and commissioning into service sixty-six 66) number power transformers. We have equally built new transmission substations, and re-conductored transmission line projects among others.
“Some of the projects were executed under the World Bank sponsored projects which is geared towards increasing TCN’s capacity by 9000 MVA. Currently, projects amounting to 6000MVA have been completed and connected to the grid, including the Rimin Zakara Substation in New Kano.
“The World Bank is also funding the upgrade of some brown field substation projects. Another donor agency projects in TCN is the AFD funded projects that has completed five transmission substations in Abuja, two have been energized. AFDB is also executing the new Kano-Kaduna 330kV DC transmission line with 330KV Substation at Zaria and 132kV substation at Jaji, Kaduna State simultaneously amongst others.
“The FGN power projects supervising the execution of the SIEMENS project has supplied a total of 10 mobile substations out of which 7 have been installed. Another 10 transformers of various ratings was also installed in the transmission network and connected to the grid.
“The FGN power company is the Special Purpose vehicle for the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative. Having completed the pilot phase of the Siemens project with the installation of the transformers, the Phase 1B of the project has been approved by the FEC for the reinforcement of seven existing transmission substations.
“The FGN projects have further contibuted to the increase in TCN’s capacity as the projects are handed over to TCN on completion. The FGN projects already executed added 1350MW to the grid,” Abdulaziz stated.
He confirmed that there has been a 76.47% reduction in grid disturbances over the past five years.
His words, “To enable us manage the grid in the absence of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) in place, we developed the Generation Load Drop Sensitivity (GLDS) system, which detects and responds to sudden drops in power generation, preventing cascading failures.
“Additionally, all our substations have now been fully digitized and automated.
“We equally deployed an in-house Internet of Things (loT) solution to improve visibility of power generators. This successfully expanded visibility of power stations from 6 to 27 locations. This is being used as a stop gap solution until the ongoing SCADA project funded by the World Bank is completed. The SCADA project is about 69% completed, and on completion, it will enhance real-time monitoring and improve grid management and efficiency. To also help in grid stability and reduce transmission losses, NERC is enforcing the Free Governor Control.
“A three-man committee is in place to oversee the activation of the Free Governor Mode of Operation (FGMO) across power stations. We have equally introduced an enhanced maintenance regime, which includes regular inspections, preventive maintenance, and swift repairs.
“Routine line surveillance and maintenance efforts have been further strengthened and reactors installed in Jebba, Jos, and Makurdi to minimize voltage surges. The 330KV Shiroro-Mando transmission line has also been fully restored.
“In order to reduce downtime and improve efficiency, we undertook a comprehensive restocking of TCN’s central stores. We had the largest stockpile of transmission equipment in TCN’s history, including 22 power transformers and other accessories, most of which have been moved to various project sites. Presently, we have 6, 150MVA and 5No 100MVA transformers, 132KV Isolators, 110V DC Battery banks, haulage trucks, 132KV circuit breakers, current transformers, and voltage transtormers, among others in our central store in Lagos.
Availability of spares has substantially increased our projects completion time, fault repair and enhanced prompt maintenance.”
