TCN boosts national grid capacity with 600MW

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced the addition of 600 megawatts to the national grid following the completion of a major transmission project in Edo State.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, disclosed this on Thursday during the commissioning of the Ihovbor/Benin and Ihovbor/Ajaokuta 330kV Turn-In-Turn-Out transmission line project.

According to Abdulaziz, the project links the existing Benin-Ajaokuta 330kV transmission line to the Ihovbor Transmission Substation, creating two new transmission routes spanning about 14 kilometres.

He explained that the infrastructure upgrade would improve the evacuation of electricity generated from power plants in the Benin axis, particularly the Azura Power Plant and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company facility.

“This has helped to reduce transmission bottlenecks, improve system reliability and allow distribution companies access to more bulk electricity for customers nationwide. With this, we have added 600 megawatts to the national grid,” he said.

The TCN boss noted that the project would also strengthen the flexibility and stability of the national transmission network by enabling electricity generated in Edo State to be wheeled efficiently to other parts of the country.

“With the grid system, power generated from the Benin axis can easily be wheeled to any part of the country,” he stated.

Abdulaziz added that the development marked another step towards building a more reliable and efficient transmission system capable of supporting increased electricity supply across Nigeria.

He further explained that before the project, some generated power could not be fully evacuated due to transmission limitations, but the new lines would now ensure that more electricity reaches consumers.

“Before, there was power that was generated without evacuation, but now we are going to evacuate more power, which means Nigerians would be getting a more stable supply,” he added.