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TCN’s $1.4bn Funding Lifts Power Grid as Transformer Capacity Rises to 8,500MVA
• Vandalism, ageing assets threaten sustainability
•Manpower, logistics funding remain major constraints
•FG: We’ve metered 60% active electricity consumers nationwide
Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has expanded its transmission capacity through more than $1.4 billion in multilateral and development financing, with over 8,500 megavolt-amperes (MVA) of transformer capacity added to the national grid.
The company, which currently has 8,700 megawatts (MW) of electricity wheeling capacity, also recorded a peak transmission of 5,801.84MW on March 4, 2025, while 89 new transformers have been commissioned across the country.
The figures were contained in a presentation by TCN’s Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP), Oluwagbenga Ajiboye, at a media workshop for Abuja energy correspondents in Keffi, Nassarawa state.
Besides, the federal government has disclosed that it has deployed 668,000 electricity meters, representing about 60 per cent of the 1.033 million meters delivered under Phase 1 of the $500 million World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).
Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayodeji Gbeleyi, disclosed this yesterday while briefing the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) at its second meeting for 2026, chaired by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the State House, Abuja.
TCN also reported a maximum daily energy transmission of 128,370.75 megawatt-hours (MWh), reflecting increased grid throughput following investments in transformers, substations and transmission corridors.
According to the company, the additional transformer capacity has improved bulk power delivery to distribution load centres, reduced loading constraints and strengthened redundancy across the network.
Among the major projects delivered was a 300MVA, 330/132kV transformer commissioned at the Katampe Transmission Substation in Abuja in May 2026. The project increased the substation’s capacity from 450MVA to 750MVA and provided additional capacity for bulk supply to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and surrounding areas.
TCN also commissioned a 75MVA transformer at the Mile 50 Abakaliki Transmission Substation, increasing the facility’s capacity to 135MVA, while a 60MVA mobile transformer commissioned at Damaturu raised the substation’s capacity from 120MVA to 180MVA.
In Edo State, the company commissioned two additional 330kV transmission routes covering 40 kilometres under the Benin-Ihovbor and Ihovbor-Ajaokuta Turn-In Turn-Out projects, strengthening evacuation from the Niger Delta generation corridor.
In Lagos, where TCN said about 30 per cent of national power offtake occurs, the company stated that it has undertaken capacity expansion involving 100MVA at Ijora, 300MVA at Lekki and 125MVA at Agbara, alongside rehabilitation of other substations.
TCN said development partners including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) were supporting the expansion, rehabilitation and modernisation of the transmission network.
It added that preventive maintenance had been carried out on more than two-thirds of its substations and transmission lines in 2026, as part of efforts to improve reliability and extend the life of ageing assets.
However, the company acknowledged that vandalism, ageing infrastructure, funding and liquidity constraints, right-of-way and compensation issues, rising demand and project execution remained major challenges to sustaining the gains.
TCN noted that it reported 151 vandalism incidents and disclosed that 12 tower members and angle irons were recovered during a July 2026 theft attempt. It said it was working with security agencies and host communities to protect transmission infrastructure.
The company said the priority is now to convert the additional capacity and infrastructure investments into dependable and resilient electricity transmission while protecting its assets.
Also speaking, TCN’s General Manager, Material Control and Stores, Abdulkadir Adamu, disclosed that the company had deployed critical transmission equipment and materials to its regions to support grid maintenance and repairs.
He said the department had received 1,500 units of transformer oil, 105 circuit breakers and 64 isolators, among other materials, with supplies distributed to various regions for maintenance activities.
According to the presentation, TCN currently operates 10 regions, 31 sub-regions and 11 work centres, with 59 330kV substations and 180 132kV substations. Its network comprises 119 330/132kV power transformers and 436 132/33kV transformers.
The department also highlighted the deployment of new haulage equipment, including a 100-tonne low-bed truck and trailers, to improve the movement of critical materials to project and maintenance locations.
Adamu, however, identified inadequate manpower at zonal stores, the need for more truck drivers and crane operators, as well as funding for truck fuelling and staff expenses, as major constraints to the department’s operations.
He said strengthening material availability remained critical to reducing response times to transmission faults and ensuring that the right equipment was available at the right locations when required.
Nigeria’s power supply crisis is rooted in decades of underinvestment, ageing infrastructure, inadequate maintenance and weaknesses across the electricity value chain. Despite having more than 13,000MW of installed generation capacity, actual electricity generation and supply have remained significantly below potential due to gas shortages, plant failures and other operational constraints.
Repeated grid disturbances and system collapses have further exposed the fragility of the network, while distribution companies continue to grapple with inadequate infrastructure, metering gaps, commercial losses and poor revenue collection.
Also at the heart of the crisis is the sector’s liquidity problem. Electricity tariffs and collections have historically been insufficient to cover the cost of supply, leaving huge debts across the market and constraining investment by Generation Companies (Gencos), Distribution Companies (Discos) and gas suppliers. The resulting cycle of inadequate payment, reduced gas supply, lower generation and weak investment continues to undermine efforts to provide Nigerians with reliable electricity.
Meanwhile, the federal government has disclosed that it has deployed 668,000 electricity meters, representing about 60 per cent of the 1.033 million meters delivered under Phase 1 of the $500 million World Bank-financed DISREP.
BPE’s Gbeleyi disclosed this yesterday while briefing the NCP at its second meeting for 2026, chaired by Vice President Shettima at the State House, Abuja.
Gbeleyi said the meter deployment, alongside initiatives such as the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), was aimed at closing the country’s metering gap and reducing estimated billing of electricity customers.
“We have implemented 60 per cent of the meters that have been delivered in the country out of 1,033,000. So far, we have deployed and installed 668,000 meters on customers’ premises,” he said.
He also disclosed that about 17 states had established their own electricity regulatory commissions since April 2024 as part of the implementation of the Electricity Act.
According to him, Akwa Ibom State became the latest state to establish its electricity regulatory commission in July, although some aspects of the implementation of the law still required clarification.
“Some fine-tuning is required here and there in the implementation of that Act,” Gbeleyi said.
He added that the council had directed relevant stakeholders, led by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Power, the Special Adviser to the President on Power, the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the BPE and other stakeholders, to harmonise the federal government’s position on amendments to the Electricity Act.
In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the NCP was working collaboratively to ensure Nigerians derived greater value from electricity and other critical sectors of the economy.
“We are working concertedly and in a very collaborative manner to ensure that we give value, either in electricity or in telecoms—whichever area—to make sure that Nigerians benefit from this government,” he said.
