Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN had recently received 1.66 billion dollars from international donors which has increased generation capacity in the country.
The Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria, Usman Mohammed disclosed this at the Nigeria electricity awareness walk, organised by TCN and Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited in conjunction with other Nigerian Electricity Industry Stakeholders on Saturday in Abuja.
He said that the capacity was less than 4,000MW but increased to over 7,500MW, which also increased the distribution capacity from about 3,500MW to 5,375MW at the highest peak in February. “There is need to sustain investment in the sector especially in the distribution segment,’’ he said.
The TCN boss said United Nations’ SDGs classified infrastructure along with industry and innovation as goal number nine, while the availability of clean and affordable energy stands alone as the goal number seven. Mohammed said power stands out as the most important infrastructure, adding that many citizens knowingly or ignorantly were contributing to the crisis confronting the sector.
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He attributed the poor development of the sector to vandalism of power infrastructure, building under power lines, preventing the acquisition of power line Right of Way (ROW) among others.
The TCN boss also said that electricity theft through illegal connection, meter by-pass and the refusal to pay electricity bills by consumers was a challenge for the sector.
Mohammed said the objective of the walk was to highlight the need for all Nigerians to appreciate sustainable development and growth of the Nigeria electricity industry as a national issue.
Yetunde Adegoke
