FG Targets 6,000MW Supply By December, Adds 208MW with Ijora, Apapa Substations

• New facilities to boost port operations, manufacturing in Lagos

•Tegbe: Investments target bottlenecks, support Tinubu’s $1tn ambition

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lago

The federal government has set a fresh target to wheel 6,000 megawatts of electricity “comfortably” to the national grid by December 2026, as it inaugurated two upgraded transmission substations in Lagos that added 208MW of new wheeling capacity. 

Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, announced the target yesterday at the inauguration of the upgraded Ijora and Apapa Road transmission substations. He said 20 completed transmission projects would be inaugurated nationwide before year end as part of efforts to remove evacuation bottlenecks. 

“This is the second commissioning today. Before the end of the year, we should commission 20 projects. The most important thing is to be able to wheel comfortably, 6,000 megawatts, before December,” Tegbe said while speaking at the Ijora sub-station.

But the 6,000MW pledge is not new as the immediate-past Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had made a similar promise during his tenure and had also vowed that Nigeria would generate, transmit and distribute 6,000MW within his first year.

That target was not met as grid data during his time showed daily output hovering between 3,800MW and 4,800MW, with frequent collapses blamed on gas shortages, transmission constraints and vandalism. 

Tegbe said the administration was focusing first on transmission because generation alone means little if power cannot be evacuated. For years, he noted, available generation has been stranded by weak transmission, ageing equipment and inadequate maintenance. 

He described the upgrades in Apapa and Ijora as a deliberate strengthening of the arteries through which the economy moves, and linked them to President Bola Tinubu’s goal of building a $1 trillion economy. 

At Apapa Road, the minister inaugurated a new 2×60MVA, 132/33kV Gas Insulated Substation (GIS). He said the facility replaced an outdoor transformer that had served as a stopgap since the original substation was inaugurated in 1985.

The new GIS, equipped with two 60MVA transformers, new switchgear, control building and SCADA systems, increases bulk power availability on that axis by approximately 96MW. 

Tegbe noted that Apapa was not an ordinary load centre, saying it hosts port operations, maritime services, logistics, manufacturing and warehousing whose activities reach far beyond Lagos State. 

At Ijora, two ageing 30MVA transformers were replaced with two new 100MVA, 132/33kV units. The upgrade lifted the substation’s installed capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, equivalent to 184MW. That, he said, represents an additional 112MW of bulk transmission capacity for Ijora, Costain, Oyingbo, Customs and adjoining communities within the Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (EKEDP) franchise area. 

“The objective is not just to generate more megawatts. The objective is to create a power system that can reliably deliver electricity to where it is needed, when it is needed, and at a quality and cost that supports economic activity,” Tegbe said. 

He commended Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for support and said the ministry will continue reinforcing transmission infrastructure nationwide to close the gap between available generation and evacuation capacity. 

Tegbe said the investment went beyond the completion of an engineering project, describing it as a deliberate strengthening of the electricity infrastructure serving one of the country’s most economically consequential corridors.

He said Apapa hosts a concentration of port operations, maritime services, logistics businesses, manufacturing facilities, warehouses and other commercial activities whose economic impact extends beyond Lagos State.

Tegbe said the replacement of two ageing 30MVA transformers with two modern 100MVA units had raised the substation’s total installed capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, equivalent to 184MW.

He said the administration was focused not only on generating more electricity but also on ensuring that available power could be reliably delivered to consumers.

“We have generated electricity that cannot adequately be evacuated; we have had available generation constrained by transmission limitations; we have had growing demand without corresponding improvement of transmission capacity,” he said.

The minister said the government would continue to strengthen critical substations, reinforce transmission corridors, remove bottlenecks and chokepoints, improve system resilience and create the capacity required to evacuate and deliver available electricity.

He said the objective was to build a power system in which electricity would serve as a foundation for industrial competitiveness and economic growth, rather than a constraint on investment decisions.

Tegbe expressed appreciation to Japan and JICA for supporting the Apapa Road project, while also commending the World Bank for its support for the Ijora intervention.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Abdulaziz, who gave further details of the two projects, said the upgrade in Apapa was delivered under the Emergency Rehabilitation and Reinforcement of Lagos Transmission Substations project, sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, (JICA) and executed by Takaoka Engineering.

With the installation of two new 60MVA transformers and modern GIS, the facility energised on April 17, 2026, tripled the station’s capacity from 60MVA to 180MVA.

Abdulaziz said the expansion significantly increases bulk power available for onward delivery to EKEDP, and will improve supply to Apapa Causeway, Ijora, Amukoko, Ajegunle, Apapa Wharf, Tin Can Island and other commercial zones. 

On Ijora, he said the World Bank-funded project executed by Shanghai Electric replaced two 30MVA transformers with two 100MVA units. The upgrade raised installed capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, adding 140MVA to support growing demand in EKEDP’s area. 

He added that the projects were part of TCN’s nationwide programme to expand sub-stations and lines so that every incremental megawatt generated could be efficiently evacuated. 

The 208MW added in Lagos is expected to help reduce voltage collapse and load shedding in the port corridor.

He also acknowledged the contributions of TCN, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), Eko Electricity Distribution Company, the Lagos State Government and the contractors and technical partners involved in the projects.

Abdulaziz appealed for similar development assistance for other critical sections of the transmission network, saying additional grant support would enable TCN to sustain and optimise transmission operations across the country.

He said the projects demonstrated the government’s commitment to building a stronger and more resilient transmission network capable of supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation, economic competitiveness and long-term development.

He said the projects would provide capacity to accommodate future load growth, reduce network constraints, enhance operational flexibility and improve supply reliability to an area critical to the commercial and industrial life of Lagos.

The TCN chief executive said the Ijora project was funded by the World Bank and executed by Shanghai Electric Group Company Limited, describing it as part of the federal government’s broader programme to expand transmission infrastructure.

According to Abdulaziz, it will further ensure that additional generation could be evacuated and delivered to distribution load centres.