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TCN plans 20,000mw evacuation capacity by 2020

By BusinessNews Staff on July 30, 2014

As part of the measures to strengthen the transmission infrastructure to withstand increase in power generation, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) plans to boost its infrastructure to have the capacity to evacuate 20,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020.

The country’s weak transmission network has led to frequent collapse of the power infrastructure as soon as generation exceeds 4,000 megawatts because the network cannot evacuate huge electricity capacity to the distribution companies.

But speaking at the weekend in Lagos at the occasion to mark the flag-off of the release of 248 containers of power equipment imported by the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and abandoned for 11 years at the ports in Lagos and Onne in Rivers State, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Mr Mack Kast said the company had massive plans to refurbish the power sector.

The TCN boss, whose company would take delivery of the containers from the Nigeria Customs Service on behalf of the defunct PHCN, said the release of the equipment would bring to reality the dream of President Goodluck Jonathan in reforming the power sector.

“The generation companies have been privatised; the distribution companies have been privatised. These were major steps. The Transmission Company of Nigeria has major efforts on the way. We have plans for massive refurbishment of the power sector. It is our goal that we are going to double the evacuation capacity of TCN. It is our expectation that by 2020, we will have the capacity to evacuation 20,000 megawatts of power,” Kast said.

The TCN boss said the target would be a huge leap forward for President Jonathan’s reform and the country and described the release of the 248 containers as good news for the power sector.

The first set of the equipment worth several billions of naira was imported in 2003 for power projects in about 12 states in the country but were left at the ports, thereby stalling all the affected projects.

Power projects, which should have been delivered a decade ago were stalled on account of the overstay of the imported containers at the ports for a period ranging from seven to 11 years.

Some of the 10 of these projects include: Abor Mbaise – Mpu – Ideato Substation projects in Imo State; Kano Combusto-Dankata –Hadejiya Transmission Substation; Oba- Nnewi Substations and Lines in Anambra State; Dambata Substation and Omotosho –Epe- Aja lines in Ondo and Lagos States.

Other projects include: ALSCON – Ibom 330KV Lines in Akwa Ibom State; Igangan –Igbora Substation and Ikorodu-Odiganya –Shagamu Transmission Lines in Lagos and Ogun States.

The rest of the projects include Nsukka – Ayangba through Enugu, Benue and Kogi States; as well as the project for the supply of current transformers and capacitor voltage transformers.

[This Day]

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