TCN says China-made equipment delays Amuwo substation rehabilitation in Lagos

The rehabilitation of the Amuwo 132/33kV Transmission Substation in Lagos is awaiting equipment being manufactured in China before the remaining work can continue.

Engr. Mrs Funmi Ikoko, Acting General Manager of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Lagos Region, disclosed this during discussions with the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC) team led by its CEO, Mrs Temitope George, and Executive Member of Engineering and Standards, Engr. Olopade Adekunle, during a fact-finding tour of TCN facilities in Lagos on Tuesday, which Nairametrics attended.

The update comes after Nairametrics reported in March that residents and businesses in parts of Amuwo-Odofin could face a four-month power disruption due to the scheduled rehabilitation of the facility.

China equipment holds up Amuwo rehabilitation

Ikoko said the rehabilitation is now about 80% complete, but the contractors are waiting for contactors, relays and other equipment needed to complete the remaining work.

• “On average, that job is about 80%. So, very soon, we are expecting the contractors to come back to fix all those contactors and all those relay that are not properly fixed,” Ikoko said.

She said the outstanding materials are not being sourced locally and are being manufactured in China, adding that the contractor has promised that the materials will arrive soon.

• “It depends on when their own material comes in. It’s not here. It’s not being sourced locally. They are making it for China. And they promise, according to them, it will soon arrive. But we still should give them about a month plus, less than two months,” she added.

The equipment delay follows an earlier delay caused by difficulties in granting the outage required for contractors to carry out the rehabilitation work.

She explained that the rehabilitation required a total shutdown of the Amuwo station, but TCN could not grant the outage without making alternative arrangements to maintain electricity supply to customers. Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric also needed to give consent under their Service Level Agreement (SLA).

• “Doing that was what delayed the job. But now the alternate arrangement has been made,” Ikoko said.

She said TCN deployed mobile transformers and diverted loads to them, while lines were also extended from Ojo and other locations towards the Festac axis to relieve some of the affected loads.

With the outage issue now addressed, Ikoko said the outstanding equipment is the major requirement for the contractors to continue and complete the remaining work.

Lagos grid faces distribution bottlenecks

The LASERC team raised concerns about the ability of Lagos’ electricity network to absorb and distribute available power, noting that improvements in transmission infrastructure must be matched by upgrades on distribution networks.

Adekunle said bottlenecks remain on the distribution side, particularly around load uptake, feeder capacity and protection coordination.

He said DisCos need to upgrade their 11kV and 33kV networks to effectively take up available power from the transmission system.

• The officials also discussed instances where available power could not be fully taken up because of downstream network limitations, including reports of up to 200MW being rejected at certain periods.
• George said the inspection was aimed at giving LASERC a clearer understanding of infrastructure constraints and identifying areas requiring investment across the electricity value chain.
• She noted that addressing the bottlenecks would require coordinated investment in both transmission and distribution infrastructure, particularly where network limitations prevent available capacity from reaching consumers.

The discussions also highlighted the need for greater network redundancy, given the importance of facilities such as Amuwo and Akangba to electricity supply in Lagos.

Amuwo project misses July deadline

Nairametrics reported in March that the rehabilitation and maintenance of the 132kV GIS substation at the Amuwo Transmission Station was scheduled to run from March 18 to July 30, 2026.

• The project was expected to affect electricity supply to parts of Amuwo-Odofin, including areas served by feeders supplying Old Ojo Road, Ijesha Express, Jakande, Amukoko and Hongxing.
• In May, TCN said the rehabilitation, which commenced in March, was progressing steadily and remained on track for completion in July 2026.
• At the time, TCN said GIS equipment was being installed and that two 60MVA power transformers had been delivered to replace existing 30MVA units.

The company said the replacement would increase the substation’s capacity by an additional 60MVA upon completion.

TCN had also deployed two mobile transformers to enable Eko and Ikeja DisCos to continue taking power during the rehabilitation and prevent a total blackout in the affected areas.

However, the project missed its July completion target, with TCN’s latest September update putting progress at about 80% and identifying outstanding equipment from China as the next requirement for the work to continue.

LASERC expands Lagos power licensing

In an earlier exclusive interview with Nairametrics, LASERC CEO Temitope George said the commission was strengthening consumer protection, universal metering and performance monitoring while expanding private-sector participation in Lagos’ electricity market.

• LASERC recently granted Elektron Energy Development an operational licence for its 40MW Victoria Island Power project. In May, the commission also approved 14 licences and permits covering embedded and off-grid generation, independent distribution, metering and mini-grid operations.
• The approvals included projects by Axxela Limited and Isolo Power Gen Limited.
• They also covered facilities linked to Seven-Up, Nigerian Breweries, NBC, Crown Flour Mill, Nigerdock and Promasidor.

A Nairametrics review of LASERC documents also found about 40 additional applications under review across embedded generation, captive power and mini-grid categories.

The applications indicate a growing pipeline of decentralised electricity projects in Lagos, alongside efforts to address transmission and distribution constraints.