Based on news reports, the Federal government has disclosed plans to secure a US$200million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to provide about 203KM high voltage transmission lines and six high voltage substations in selected communities in Ogun and Lagos States.
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu noted that the deal was aimed at promoting best practices particularly with respect to infrastructural development in the electricity supply industry in Nigeria. The transmission rehabilitation and the expansion programme will be carried out by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
The Nigerian power sector since its privatization in 2013 has recorded over 130 instances of collapsed power grid. The management of TCN has at various times clamoured for reserves to cushion or perhaps forestall the occurrence of these events. In July 2021, the TCN made another case for the urgent need for a spinning reserve in case of interruptions on the national grid to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, but approval is yet to be given.
The transmission rehabilitation and expansion programme (TREP) is a strategy expected to rehabilitate and expand transmission infrastructure to stabilize the grid for optimum performance, through massive investment in line with international best practice. TREP is expected to expand the capacity of the transmission grid to 20,000MW by 2022.
TCN oversees transmission – wheeling power around the grid and installing transmission lines. One of the main reasons the FGN privatised the sector was because NEPA/PHCN had not kept up with investing in the electricity transmission infrastructure – the critical link between generating and supplying electricity to the end-user.
However, the NEPA/PHCN pattern of non-performance has continued till date. It goes without saying that transmission is a critical aspect of the power value chain. The GenCos and the IPPs can ramp up available capacity closer to installed capacity; the DisCos can improve their distribution networks, optimise metering and improve collection efficiency; and gas supply and the gas transportation pipeline network can be made fit for (domestic) purpose.
But, if it is not possible to transmit the electricity produced by the GenCos to the DisCos consistently and effectively, the entire system collapses figuratively and physically. Electricity cannot be stored so that which is not transmitted will be stranded due to lack of evacuation capacity.
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