The Federal Government has pledged to intensify investment in electricity infrastructure across the country as part of efforts to improve power supply and address persistent blackouts.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, made this known
on Tuesday in Lagos while commissioning two transmission projects in Alausa and
Lekki.
The projects included a 1x100MVA, 132/33kV power
transformer at the Alausa Transmission Substation and additional transformers
at the Lekki 330/132/33kV Transmission Substation.
Tegbe said the Federal Government would continue to
invest in critical transmission infrastructure across the country, particularly
in areas with significant industrial and economic activities.
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He said, “Again, like I said earlier in the day, I
will conclude with a clear assurance. The administration of President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu remains very firmly committed to the transformation of the
Nigerian electricity sector.
“We’ll continue to support investment across the
electricity value chain. We’ll invest in critical transmission infrastructure,
both in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna-Kano corridor, Enugu, Port Harcourt, across the
entire nation, especially where industry hubs sit.”
The minister’s declaration came a day after he
announced that the country was targeting the ability to wheel 6,000 megawatts
of electricity by December.
Tegbe said on Monday that the Federal Government was
also targeting the commissioning of 20 transmission projects before the end of
the year as part of measures to strengthen the national grid.
At the Lekki commissioning on Tuesday, he said the
government would continue to expand transmission capacity in response to the
rapid growth of the area. “So we won’t stop at doubling capacity; we will have
to have another substation on this axis very soon,” he said.
The minister said the Lekki corridor had become one of
the most important growth areas in Lagos and Nigeria, with residential,
commercial and industrial developments driving electricity demand.
“Lekki axis, as I mentioned, is one of the most
consequential growth corridors in Lagos and increasingly in Nigeria. It’s a
corridor experiencing sustained residential, commercial, and industrial
expansion, and it represents precisely the kind of location where electricity
demand grows alongside investments and population growth,” Tegbe stated.
He said the government’s investment strategy would
increasingly focus on areas where electricity could unlock production,
investment, employment and economic value.
“And that is going to continue our focus, and that’s
why I said this is an axis that we must take very seriously, we must
concentrate on, and allow that expansion that is happening in Lekki to benefit
from whatever we’re doing here,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Abdulaziz, said the Alausa
project would increase the substation’s capacity by 70MVA.
Abdulaziz, in his welcome address at the commissioning
of the project, said the newly installed 1x100MVA, 132/33kV transformer
replaced the existing 1x30MVA transformer.
“This installation replaces the substation’s existing
1x30MVA, 132/33kV transformer, increasing its capacity by 70MVA and raising
total substation capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA. This significant upgrade
enhances the substation’s ability to serve its growing load demand,” he said.
The TCN boss said the project, executed by Shanghai
Electric Ltd under a World Bank-funded initiative which commenced in January
2021, would provide more stable electricity to at least 70,000 residents in
Alausa and its environs through the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.
“Upon energisation, it will deliver more stable and
reliable power to at least 70,000 residents across Alausa and its environs,
through the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company,” Abdulaziz stated.
He said the upgrade would also increase the volume of
bulk electricity that TCN could wheel to distribution load centres.
“Beyond serving the immediate community, this upgrade
meaningfully increases the quantum of bulk power that TCN can wheel to
distribution load centers nationwide. It reinforces grid stability and ensures
that more bulk power reaches the distribution companies’ load centers for
onward delivery to electricity consumers within their franchise areas,” he
said.
Abdulaziz said the project demonstrated TCN’s
commitment to expanding the national transmission network to meet Nigeria’s
growing electricity needs.
He added that the achievement aligned with President
Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s efforts to
steadily improve the power sector.
At the Lekki substation, TCN also commissioned
additional transformation capacity, with a 300MVA, 330/132kV transformer and
two 60MVA, 132/33kV transformers forming part of the upgrade.
The Lekki project increased capacity at the 132/33kV
level from 120MVA to 240MVA, while the wider project is designed to double
capacity at the higher transformation level.
Tegbe said the government would also address
electricity infrastructure challenges in other parts of Lagos. The minister
also called on electricity distribution companies to complement the Federal
Government’s investment in transmission infrastructure by improving their
networks and ensuring that additional bulk power reached end users.
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