- The Federal Government has signed a one-year extension of its current management contract for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) with the Canadian firm, Manitoba Hydro International (MHI).
- This is as a result of the nation achieving a new electricity transmission peak of 4,545 megawatts (mw) through the TCN national network.
The feat, which was achieved at 21.45hrs on Monday, July 13, 2015, is now the highest to ever be recorded in the country. - Until now, the previous power transmission peak of 4,517mw was attained on December 23, 2012. Consequently, electricity wheeling to the distribution companies has improved to over 4,000mw.
Meanwhile, the TCN’s contract extension follows a $23 million three-year management contract signed in 2012 between the MHI and former President Goodluck Jonathan-led federal government for the management of the TCN’s electrical power transmission, system operation and market operation undertakings as well as to train TCN personnel. - The contract which was signed by the TCN, MHI and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) follows the privatisation of the power sector which resulted to 18 successor companies from the defunct state-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
- Following the renewal, the contract which is supposed to expire on July 31, 2015, has now been extended to July 31, 2016.
- According to a statement signed yesterday by the TCN’s general manager, Public Affairs, Seun Olagunju, the MHI by the contract is expected to continue to assume responsibility for the management and control of the TCN’s entire operations, working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to transform the company into a technically and financially efficient company.
- Recounting the benefits from the contract in the last three years, Olagunju stated that “the MHI, working together with TCN staff have achieved a wheeling capacity of 5,300 megawatts and reduced system losses from over 12 per cent to approximately 8. per cent.
“In addition, system collapses have reduced significantly, from 22 in 2013 to 9 in 2014, while the duration of collapses has reduced from more than 2.5 hours to approximately 30 minutes.”
Source: Leadership
