The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced plans to increase the country’s power evacuation capacity to 10,000 megawatts (MW) by 2026.
Speaking at a press briefing at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, March 6, TCN Managing Director Sule Abdulaziz said the government remains committed to upgrading the national grid and improving electricity supply.
Highlighting Nigeria’s recent peak power generation of 5,801.84MW on March 4, he stated that the country’s current transmission capacity stands at 8,500MW.
“With the numerous TCN transmission projects completed in the last two years and new ones currently underway,” Abdulaziz said.a
“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.”
Grid Monitoring System 69% Complete
The TCN boss also revealed that the $486 million World Bank-funded SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, designed to enhance grid monitoring, is 69% complete.
He noted that while the project is ongoing, TCN has implemented a temporary load drop sensitivity system to prevent cascading grid failures.
“Our progress is also evident in the 76.47 percent reduction in grid disturbances over the past five years,” he said.
“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.”
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Power Generation Hits 5,713MW—TCN
Abdulaziz said once the SCADA system is operational, operators will no longer rely on manual tracking or phone calls to detect faults, improving response time and grid stability.
FG Implements Solar Power Projects in Northern States
On renewable energy, Abdulaziz disclosed that the federal government is working on solar power projects across the 19 northern states, capitalising on the region’s strong solar potential.
Each state, he said, is expected to generate 100MW, which will be gradually integrated into the national grid.
However, he cautioned that only 10% of Nigeria’s total power generation can come from solar without destabilising the grid.
Meanwhile, he highlighted the ongoing African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded projects, including the new Kano-Kaduna 330kV DC transmission line, the Zaria 330kV substation, and a 132kV substation in Jaji, Kaduna.
Abdulaziz also provided updates on the Siemens-backed Presidential Power Initiative, noting that 10 mobile substations and 10 transformers have been delivered, with seven already installed.
“The FGN power company is the special purpose vehicle for implementing the presidential power initiative,” he added.
“Having completed the pilot phase of the Siemens project with the installation of the transformers, phase 1B of the project has been approved by the FEC for the reinforcement of seven existing transmission substations.”
With these ongoing initiatives, Abdulaziz expressed confidence that Nigeria’s power sector would experience significant improvements in the coming years.