Power supply holds the key to industrial and economic growth. It is the engine room for both large, medium, and small-scale manufacturing. It can unlock the entrepreneurial ingenuity of the artisan.
It is against this background that over the years, the Federal Government has taken steps to reform the power sector with a view to unraveling its seeming obstinate challenges.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which is one of the agencies implementing reforms in the power sector recently said that it is procuring equipment to boost the power grid.
The TCN is responsible for evacuating power generated by the electricity generating companies (GenCos) and wheeling it to distribution companies (DisCos).
It provides the vital transmission infrastructure between the GenCos and the DisCos’ Feeder Sub-stations.
The TCN recently acquired 22 brand new power transformers and other heavy-duty equipment to boost the power grid to ensure that generated power reached consumers.
The power transformers, spare parts and critical equipment were all delivered to the company’s central store in Ojo, Lagos.
TCN said that the equipment are being moved to project sites for new projects, upgrading of existing projects; and for other related maintenance work nationwide.
The equipment, which the company said was the highest supply in the company’s history, include 22 power transformers, haulage trucks, transmission switchyard spare parts, 45 no earthing transformers, suspension clamps, vibration dampers.
Others are Armor Rods, Circuit Breakers, Current transformer, Voltage transformers, 100 tons Crane truck heads etc.
“As more of the equipment arrive Lagos Port for onward delivery to the store, they are to be installed in various ongoing project sites across the country while others would serve as spare part.
“The Governing Board and the Management of TCN, recently inspected the massive and unprecedented stockpile of various kinds of transmission equipment which will further improve TCN’s transmission capacity,” said Mr Nsima Ekere.
Ekere, the chairman, Technical and Monitoring Committee of the Governing Board of TCN led other members on a visit to Ojo Store as part of their recent two-day visit to the Lagos Region.
The committee also used the trip to inspect key power transmission substations as well as the Ojo central store, as it strives to ensure that the nation’s epileptic power supply is mitigated.
“We have seen lots of equipment and that gives me hope that the new dawn that we have been expecting at TCN is here. We saw about 30 forklifts.
“We also saw the mobile transformer reconditioning facilities. We saw all kinds of equipment: conductors, isolators, other equipment and also some very giant transformers.
“These are all geared towards improving TCN’s efficiency in doing their work. I have faith in the transmission grid expansion project presently being executed.
“The challenge now is for the Generation Companies (GenCos) and the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to also step up their game”, he said.
He said it had become important for generating and distributing companies to upgrade their facilities to match what TCN was doing.
“It is high time that the GenCos and DisCos stepped up their game so that they’ll also improved capacity to deliver steady electricity to Nigeria”, he told NAN.
According to the Managing Director of TCN, Mr Sule Abdulaziz, most of the equipment were procured through donor-funded projects supported by the World Bank, French Development Agency (AFD), African Development Bank, among others.
“It is the enormous resources provided through these donor-funded projects that have assisted TCN in the numbers of transformers that are in the store.
He said that transformers ranged from 60 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) to 150MVA.
“We have not seen this level of massive supply of materials in the stores in the past, for network expansion and maintenance.
“We have 150MVA transformers which are very massive and supposed to be connected on a 330 Kilo Volt (KV) circuit. We have the 100MVA transformers, high-grade cranes and other equipment.
“It implies that the turnaround time to ratify faults when they occur and the downtime have been reduced” he said.
He listed other equipment delivered to the Lagos store to include circuit breakers isolators and aluminum conductors among others.
“Another breakthrough for the company is the acquisition of high range cranes which are used for the fixing power transmission lines and other installations in the transmission network.
“I have also seen the high cranes which are used in the maintenance of transmission lines but in the past these equipment were not enough in the network, so we have to go hiring some of them.
“This has cost us a lot of money and it does not provide the opportunity to train some of our staff directly but now that we have them, the downtime has been reduced,” Abdulaziz said.
“So all we are putting in place is for the benefit of the customers. So that they can have better power supply, better voltage and also longer hours of power supply, “Abdulaziz said.
Mr Micheal Okoh, Convener, Nigerian Power Consumers Forum (NPCF) commended TCN and the donor agencies, including the World Bank for the feat.
Okoh in a recent statement said that such critical power transmission grid investments, matched the DisCos’ and Gencos’s would bring succor to power consumers.
“It is worth commending but the truth is that Nigeria is far behind in the electricity business.
“While the delivery of 40 transformers, accessories and spare parts are historic, we believe that the company must quickly complete major substation projects”, he said.
Similarly, the Lead Advocacy Team, NPCF, Malam Yusuf Bako, the relevant stakeholders must synergize for the power challenge to be solved.
“We have observed that where TCN is completing substations in Abuja, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) is yet to build any injection substation to radiate power from the TCN facility.
“This may be a setback for Nigerians who are already expecting improved electricity from such projects,” he said
Mr Edu Okeke, the Managing Director, Azura Power Plant in Edo State, at a recent power Correspondents’ Conference urged DisCos and the government to expedite action towards improving the downstream network to accelerate power supply.
On her part, Mrs Joy Ogaji the Executive Director, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), there is need for improved investment in the DisCos
Ogaji said that GenCos are making massive investment and have the capacity to deliver more electricity when required by the DisCos.
Mr Sunday Oduntan, the Executive Director Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) told NAN the 11 DisCos are working hard to expand their networks.
Oduntan also urged the GenCos to fix their turbines and source more gas to increase generation.
Mr Usman Abba-Arabi, General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said that the commission and power sector operators were committed to reforming the electricity market.
Nigeria’s industrial growth and economic prosperity hinge on the ability of the operators of the nation’s power sector to get their priorities right, it is gladdening that this seems to be the case now.
Stakeholders expect that the current efforts be sustained with improvements where needed.
CREDITED: Constance Athekame, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
