Transmission Company of Nigeria targets 10,000MW power transmission capacity by next year
By John Egbokhan
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said plans are on to bolster the nation’s power evacuation capacity to 10,000 megawatts (MW) by 2026.
Managing director of the TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, disclosed this during the ‘meet-the-press’ programme at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday.
Abdulaziz stated that the federal government is committed to modernising the national grid and ensuring a stable power supply for citizens.
Pinpointing the recent peak power generation record of 5,801.84MW achieved on March 4, the managing director noted that TCN is on course to achieve its 10,000MW target, building upon the current evacuation capacity of 8,500MW.
“With the numerous TCN transmission projects completed in the last two years and new ones currently underway,” Abdulaziz said.
“I can confidently state that in less than two years from now, the Transmission Company of Nigeria will conveniently evacuate 10,000 megawatts [of] generated power.
“We have a capacity of 8500MW as of today; by the end of next year, our capacity will reach 10,000 megawatts.”
‘$486m WORLD BANK-FUNDED GRID MONITORING SYSTEM 69% COMPLETE ‘
Continuing, the TCN head stated that the World Bank-funded projects have added 6,000 megavolt-amperes (MVA) of transmission capacity to the grid, with an additional 3,000MVA in progress.
The managing director said the presidential power initiative (PPI) under FGN Power Company, also known as SIEMENS project, has birthed 10 mobile substations, seven of which have been installed, alongside 10 transformers of various ratings connected to the grid.
Abdulaziz noted that the ongoing SCADA project, currently 69 percent completed, would improve real-time monitoring and grid efficiency upon completion.
“Our progress is also evident in the 76.47 percent reduction in grid disturbances over the past five years,” he said.
“However, to enable us to manage the grid in the absence of SCADA in place, we developed the generation load drop sensitivity system, which detects and responds to sudden drops in power generation, preventing cascading failures.
“Additionally, all our substations have now been fully digitised and automated. We equally deployed an in-house Internet of Things solution to improve the visibility of power generators.
“This successfully expanded the 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 percent completed, and on completion, it will enhance real-time monitoring and improve grid management and efficiency.”
