The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it currently has the capacity to transmit 8,100mw of the about 13,000mw of electricity generated.

The TCN General Manager for Port Harcourt region, Dr Thomas Inugonum, made this known at a press conference in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Sunday, December 10, 2023.

Inugonum said: “We are supposed to be able to transmit about 15,000mw, but we are unable to meet this capacity due to weak and ageing infrastructure.

“Some of the infrastructure were constructed more than 50 years ago.”

Inugonum bemoaned incessant attacks on TCN’s facilities and called on the media to sensitise and create awareness of the consequences of destroying those facilities.

He added: “In some of our stations, vandals have cut earth-conductors of big transformers that cost about N800 million resulting in the ‘floating’ of the facility.

“There are projects that have been ongoing for almost 20 years in Okigwe and Mbano in Imo State and in other places that could not be completed partly because of vandalism.

“We do not understand why people vandalise our facilities considering the importance of power supply to economic activities.

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“If transmission power lines are vandalised, and in the process, it falls on top of about 100 houses, no occupant of those houses would survive.”

He stressed that daily attacks on TCN facilities in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, and Rivers states were impacting negatively on efforts to supply uninterrupted electricity.

The TCN General Manager said: “In just two months, we have lost several of our transmission lines in Odukpani (Cross River) and in Elelenwo in Rivers.

“A 60mva cost about N1.2 billion, while a span of 132kv of our transmission line cost about $330,000, making our losses unquantifiable and humongous when vandalised.

“It is unfortunate that people vandalise facilities worth billions of naira only to melt the metals to construct gates, pots, and cups. It is just wickedness.”

Inugonum said 23 power projects were at various stages of completion in the six states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, and Rivers.

He said projects were partly funded by the TCN, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, and the World Bank and were executed under the National Integrated Power Project of the Federal Government.

Inugonum said apart from the 23 projects ongoing in the six states, there were 15 other completed projects, while three were at proposition stage in the states.

He added: “The ongoing projects are the ‘re-conductoring’ of the 18km Main-Port Harcourt 132kv DC line and installation of 100mva 132/33KV transformers with 80mw capacity in Port Harcourt.

“In Afam, also in Rivers, we have six ongoing projects which include the Afam-Onne 330kv DC lines.

“We also have the Afam-Ikot Ekpene 330 DC lines in Akwa Ibom, while in Aba; we are `re-conductoring’ 10km Alaoji-Aba 132kv DC line.

“In Ugep, Cross River, construction of 2x60mva 132kv substation with capacity to generate 96mw is ongoing and the construction of 2x60mva 132/33kv station is in ground-breaking phase.”

The Star