The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has raised an alarm over an outstanding debt of ₦457 billion owed by key players in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), threatening the stability of power transmission and overall grid performance.
The company’s Managing Director, Sule Abdulaziz, made this known on Wednesday during a capacity-building workshop for power sector journalists in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
He was represented by the Executive Director of Transmission Service Provider, Oluwagbenga Ajiboye.
According to Abdulaziz, the debt includes ₦217 billion in legacy arrears and ₦240 billion accrued from more recent services rendered.
Despite the huge financial burden, he said TCN has managed to improve operational capacity, increasing its wheeling capacity to 8,701 megawatts.
While noting the company’s efforts, Abdulaziz pointed out persistent challenges hampering service delivery, including vandalism, poor funding, and a fragile power value chain.
“The electricity value chain must not be broken,” he warned. “Its strength must be uniform to successfully deliver electricity to consumers.”
He called for stronger investments in the distribution end of the sector, noting that gaps in the chain could nullify gains made in transmission.
In a related presentation, Aminu Tahir, General Manager of Project Coordination at TCN, revealed that several newly completed substations remain idle due to delays in connecting them to the grid — largely caused by right-of-way challenges.
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Tahir stressed that the failure to link critical infrastructure undermines expansion efforts and wastes valuable investments.
Despite these bottlenecks, he expressed optimism, noting that TCN has secured financing from multiple international development partners, including the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), French Development Agency (AFD), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to boost transmission capacity across the country.
Speaking on the rationale behind the workshop, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the engagement was part of the company’s initiative to build stronger media relations and promote transparency.
“The workshop provides an avenue for journalists to interact directly with TCN officials and gain firsthand insight into the challenges, projects, and plans driving the sector,” Mbah said.
As Nigeria continues its struggle with unreliable electricity supply, TCN’s outcry reinforces concerns that systemic inefficiencies and financial shortfalls may persist unless urgent, coordinated reforms are carried out across the power sector.