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Tag: TCN

  • FEC approves N1.4bn to boost electricity supply

    FEC approves N1.4bn to boost electricity supply

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N1.4 billion for the supply of more equipment for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to boost electricity supply across the country.

    The Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, made this known when he briefed State House Correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the council, presided by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said: “I presented two memos from the ministry of power for the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

    “The first one was a variation of the sum of a contract for 132/33 KV substation at Kafanchan, Kaduna State, with a KV line base extension at Jos substation, in Plateau State. This is in the sum of N132, 705, 861.42.”

    The minister said the second approval he got was for the supply of handling equipment and operational vehicles also for the Transmission Company of Nigeria at the cost of N1.3 billion.

    “The second memo was for the supply of handling equipment, haulage and operational vehicles for the TCN at N1,338,159,080.88.

    “They are heavy lifting equipment that the TCN requires for doing its work in the store and on the field, while changing equipment and moving transformers.

    “The council graciously approved,” he said.

    The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, announced that the council approved some fees for seeds production in the country.

    According to him, the council approved N400,000 per variety for private seed company and N100,000 per variety for research institutions.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also disclosed that the council approved an augmentation of N317.7 million for Pategi Water Supply project phase 11 in Kwara.

    He said the project was initially awarded in 2018 by the Buhari administration at the cost of N3.2 billion with a completion period of 74 months.

  • Blackout looms across Nigeria as 14 power plants develop faults

    Blackout looms across Nigeria as 14 power plants develop faults

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has hinted that Nigeria’s capacity to supply power has declined massively.

    According to a statement issued by the regulatory body, 14 generation plants are working on a low capacity.

    The statement reads that power generation profile has degenerated because the 14 gas stations have been operating at very low capacity and limited generations at various times within the period.

    Ndidi Mba ,the spokesperson for TCN said that the situation further exacerbated the quantum of power generation available for transmission into the grid on a daily basis.

    ”This is coming at a time consumers are expected to pay more for electricity under the Service Based Tariff (SBT). The SBT was introduced on the ground that power will improve. Instead, the situation went from bad to worse.

    ”Statistics from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc showed that an average of N720 billion worth of electricity bill is processed yearly in the country, bringing the cost to about N5.7 trillion in the last eight years. Electricity users in Nigeria settle these bills with measurable subsidy from the Federal Government.

    “Currently, the cumulative generation nationwide is low and generation companies have attributed this to several factors including poor gas supply, faults in generating units, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, all of which have caused most power companies to limit their generation, or sometimes not generate at all.

    “A summary of the power generating profiles in the last two months, for instance, clearly shows that 14 gas-powered stations were either not generating at all or had limited generation at various times within the period, further depleting the quantum of power generation available for transmission into the grid on a daily basis.”

    Power generating stations in this category include: Omotosho units five and six; Olorunsogo units three, four and six; Omoku units three and six; Omotosho NIPP units three and four; Delta units 15, 17, and 18; Afam VI units 11 and 12; Olorunsogo NIPP unit three; Ihovbor NIPP unit two; Sapele Steam unit three; Sapele NIPP unit three; Odukpani NIPP units one and three, and Okpai units 11, 12 and 18.” Mba said.

  • Parts of Lagos State to suffer blackout from October 11

    Parts of Lagos State to suffer blackout from October 11

    Ikeja Electric Plc says some area under its operational network will experience outage for a period of eight weeks to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) re-conduct its 132KV lines.

    Mr Olajide Kumapayi, Chief Technical Officer, Ikeja Electric, made the announcement at a news briefing on Monday in Ikeja.

    Kumapayi said the project which would begin on Oct. 11 was aimed at increasing the capacity of the transmission lines to wheel more power from the generation companies.

    He noted that some of 132K lines installed over 50 years ago had become obsolete and degraded due to time and usage.

    According to him, areas that will be affected by this stage of the project include Oregun, Police Training College, Oba Akran, Oke Ira, Ogba, Magodo , Anifowoshe and Omole Phase One.

    Kumapayi said: “The TCN is currently embarking on the upgrade of the 132KV lines from Ikeja West to Ota and Alimosho in stages. This is the second stage.

    “The TCN is replacing all the aluminum conductors with gap conductors which is more sophisticated to withstand heat and has more capacity to carry current.

    “The implication of this is that from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. everyday, the substations controlling these areas will be switched off which will affect the feeders connected to them.

    “This will affect all categories of customers within the area especially our Maximum Demand (MD) customers such as Ikeja City Mall, Police College, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Ikeja High Court.”

    He added that the TCN would also move to Alimosho and Agege axis during the next stage.

    Kumapayi noted that the upgrade was a power sector initiative to boost transmission and distribution of electricity to Nigerians.

    Also, Mr Felix Ofulue, Head, Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, said the DisCo had written to the MD customers notifying them of the situation.

    Ofulue said the company was also meeting with its bilateral power supply agreement partners and appealed to all those affected to exercise patience with the DisCo during the period.

    “Even though this is a TCN project, it is our duty to inform our customers of the situation because we are the ones that interface with them on a daily basis.

    “We believe it will be for the benefit of our customers at the end of the day and will also allow Ikeja Electric to invest more in our system to improve power supply to customers under our network,” Ofulue said.

  • No plan to privatise TCN – BPE

    No plan to privatise TCN – BPE

    Mr Yunana Malo, Director, Energy Department, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) says there is no plan to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    He said, at a media conference on Monday in Abuja, rather than that, the Bureau would concession it to get maximum value.

    He said transmission was the weak link in the power reform, as generation which was privatised had since attracted a lot of investments, making it more efficient.

    He said the generation capacity had improved, adding that 60 per cent of the distribution segment had also been partially privatised and was beginning to pick up through the reforms of the Federal Government.

    “The seemingly weak link is the transmission component, it is still 100 per cent owned by the FG.

    “The idea is to think outside the box and bring in solutions that will make the transmission component service the value chain, and make it more efficient.

    “Government is not thinking of privatising, it is thinking of ways and means that the private capital can be brought into the transmission component without giving out the ownership of Transmission Company,” said Malo.

    He explained that the Bureau would concession the transmission segment, “so that we can have somebody building the high tension lines, covering areas that have not been reached or to maintain the existing ones to get maximum value, to move from the radial system we have today into a mesh.

    “So the idea is not to privatise but to reform and make it efficient, bringing in private sector operational modalities within the transmission company.”

    On the Federal Government’s 40 per cent stake in the Distribution Companies (DISCOS), Malo said the shares were still intact and protected by BPE.

    Mr Alex Okoh, BPE Director-General, said over the years, N1 trillion had been generated from 234 concluded transactions of previously government-owned enterprises from various sectors of the economy.

    He said the Bureau expected to generate N493.40 billion net revenue from various transactions as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

    He said over 30 projects had been categorised under five segments with 22 of them carried over from 2020.

    He, however, said the plan to privatise the nation’s refineries had been dropped as the Federal Government was considering other approaches to revitalise and improve on them.

    The director-general said BPE was very close to resolving the issues surrounding the Ajaokuta Steel Company, especially the litigation and that once that was done a decision would be taken on how to proceed with it.

    Okoh said the rationale for privatisation was to generate revenue for government, reduce operational inefficiencies, revitalise and optimise public sector entities and increase investment level as a catalyst for growth.

    “The country’s fiscal space is getting increasingly constrained, as a result government cannot provide the resources required to meet all of its obligations and bridge the huge infrastructure gap.

    “The most feasible option is to attract private sector investments. BPE’s current initiative in its 2021 work plan and additional roles in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) space is, therefore, poised to impact on the economy positively.

    “This is in the areas of infrastructure development, improved health care service delivery, power generation and supply, employment creation, food security and human capital development,” he said.

  • TCN restores bulk power to all 330 KVA across grid – Official

    TCN restores bulk power to all 330 KVA across grid – Official

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN) says it has restored bulk power to all the 330 Kilo Volt (kV)Transmission Stations across the entire grid by 5.54pm Wednesday.

    TCN’s General Manager, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    It would be recalled that there was national grid collapse at about 11.01am Wednesday.

    TCN said that the total system collapse of the grid was as a result of voltage collapse in some parts of the grid.

    Mbah said that the Kainji – Birnin Kebbi line, however, tripped on fault but was restored.

    She said that the TCNs 330kV substations feed 132kV substations, through which Distribution Companies offtake electricity they deliver to electricity consumers nationwide.

  • National grid: TCN confirms total system collapse

    National grid: TCN confirms total system collapse

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the national grid experienced a total system collapse on Wednesday, resulting in blackout in some parts of the country.

    The TCN made the confirmation in a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah.

    Mbah said: “The TCN hereby states that at about 11.01 a.m today, May, 12 ,2021, there was a total system collapse of the grid, as a result of voltage collapse at some parts of the grid.

    “TCN commenced grid recovery immediately after the collapse, from Shiroro Generating Station to Katampe TS, Abuja through the Shiroro – Katampe line at 11:29 a.m and also through Delta Generating Station to Benin Transmission Substation and has reached Osogbo and parts of Lagos.”

    According to her, while the restoration of the grid and power gradually progress to other parts of the country, the cause of the voltage collapse that precipitated this failure is equally being investigated.

    “TCN appeals for patience as it works assiduously to ensure full restoration of the grid and consequently power supply to the remaining parts of the country,” she added.

    The national grid on Feb. 17, experienced partial collapse leading to power outage in some parts of Nigeria including Lagos State.

  • Collapsed electricity grid now restored – TCN

    Collapsed electricity grid now restored – TCN

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has restored the collapsed electricity grid system across the country.

    The Acting Managing Director of TCN, Mr Sule Abdulaziz, made this known while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Abdulaziz said the system which collapsed on Sunday evening was restored within 40 minutes of the incident.

    He explained that the company immediately went into action and stabilised the system in Abuja, before other parts of the country.

    According to him, there is nothing strange but it is normal for a system to collapse and that can happen in any country of the world.

    “Since I came on board, we never had any system collapse and this one that happened on Sunday was restored immediately which is the fastest system collapse recovery.

    “We are guarding the grid, we don’t want the system collapse to happen, but when it happens, the most important thing is what was done and how it was done to restore the system.

    “In the last six months, there was no system collapse in the grid,” he stated.

    He said that in his last few months in office, he had reorganised the company to ensure power stability.

  • 2021 Budget Defence: You can’t execute new contracts next year, Reps tell TCN

    2021 Budget Defence: You can’t execute new contracts next year, Reps tell TCN

    …insists old ones should be completed

    …MD tells C’ttee new contracts from higher authority

    The House of Representatives Committee on Power on Tuesday told the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to discard all new projects captured in the 2021 Budget estimates until all old ones are completed.

    The Committee on Power took this resolution in a motion at the resumed budget defence session with TCN on in Abuja.

    The TCN had tendered 14 new projects to be executed in next year’s budget.

    Countering the Lawmakers in session the Managing Director, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz told the Committee that there were numerous ones left unexecuted over the years but the Committee in its wisdom said it was counterproductive to introduce new ones when many previously awarded ones had not been attended to.

    The details of the successive budgets, their performance and major capital projects between 2001 and 2020 as presented by Abdulaziz showed that TCN has a total of about 158 major capital projects awarded.

    Out of the lot, completed projects are 39. These included 28 substations and 11 transmission lines.

    Similarly, 25 projects have been completed and commissioned to service without outstanding payments to contractors.

    In the same vein, 14 projects had been completed and commissioned to service but still have indebtedness to contractors.

    A total of 119 projects between 0-95% completion are still ongoing.

    Other details showed that there were 45 transmission lines projects (Green Field); 70 substation projects (Green Field) and 4 Reinforcement projects (brown field projects).

    There was also a total number of 28 projects at various levels of procurement just as 14 new projects were planned in year 2021 proposal.

    The MD further told the Committee that a total of N6,017,999,435.00 was appropriated for 2020.

    A total of N3,008,999,718.00 signifying (50%) was released while N1, 919,948,763.00 (64%) was utilised.

    He said utilization was however slowed down by Covid-19 pandemic and and GIFMIS issues.

    Meanwhile, the summary of 2021 budget proposals indicated that a total of N165,896,532,680.00 was proposed.

    Cancellation of Projects:

    Out of this amount, the Envelope given to the company by the Ministry of Power was N4,090,742,464.00, recording a difference N161,805,790,216.00.

    The development unsettled the committee which eventually called for an urgent action to reverse what was perceived as an abnormal situation.

    It reasoned that N4bn out of N165bn was a far cry from what would be impactful.

    A member of the Committee, Hon. Shehu Garba from Kaduna State who called the attention of the committee to the new projects had earlier stressed the point, saying it was counterproductive to have new projects when the old ones were still suffering.

    He said: “I need you to note that power is at the centre of the crises that we face in Nigeria. Even the youth restiveness that we have had can be traced to the collapse of power over the past two decades, leading to the collapse of small businesses. Therefore, your mandate is central to the revival of economic growth and job creation in the country. There is the need to engage the leadership at a very high level for this issue – the issue of funding. I’m at a loss seeing you proposing almost 30 new projects when you have such a monumental outstanding. In fact, I have a specific project in my constituency for the past five to six years without being completed and funds have been committed. You have manufactured panels, they have been delivered on site and my fear is that they may start vandalising these things imported with World Bank loans and multilateral agreements. Now you have new projects – 30 to 40 – when you have a huge number of ongoing projects. Honestly, I think this is an area that you need to look at.”

    Stressing the point, the chairman of the committee, Hon. Aliyu Magaji from Jigawa State said “We are trying to be realistic. What the Honourable Member is saying is that we have a huge debt of almost N165bn. We cannot complete these projects. Why are we introducing new projects? You are so lucky that whoever is sending requests to you is not sending it here and we are here to appropriate funds and we don’t have the funds. So, I think it is only correct if we stopped you from doing new projects in 2021, that you concentrate on finishing the ones you have. If members feel strongly about this, you should move a motion and we will adopt it and delete all new projects from the budget.”

    Earlier, the lawmaker had emphasized on appropriating more fund to TCN.

    “Last year, they wrote a letter to us indicating that they have almost N165bn debt on abandoned projects, hoping that this year will be better but Allah, in his mercy, brought in COVID-19. I don’t know what they will do with N4bn out of the N165bn. It is still within our purview to look at the budget and do the needful for them. I keep asking this question even though you are not the proper person to answer the question: what relationship is between the TCN projects and the Siemens. The President had a very wonderful and good intention but it is my opinion that until these TCN projects are achieved, the Siemens projects might not be what we expected them to be. I will see the involvement of our leadership both in the House and the Senate to ensure that you get proper funding. Without the transmission, there won’t be distribution. So, we have to really play up the transmission aspect of it”, he said.

    Requests for New projects came from “higher authorities”

    Responding to the enquiry, the TCN MD said “Actually, what the Honourable said is correct but you have to understand that we are civil servants. Some of these requests are coming from higher authorities and we cannot say no.”

    Consequently, a motion was needed for it.

    It was eventually moved by Hon. Mohammed Ali Wudil from Kano State and seconded.

    But swiftly, a counter motion ensued from Hon. Sada Solo from Katsina State.

    He reasoned that the TCN be given the opportunity to state in details the components of the new projects for the committee to decide on the way forward.

    His motion was put on voice vote against the cancellation of the new projects.

    It passed but the Committee Chairman overruled it.

    He said: “If you read Page 10…there is ‘emphasis on completion of ongoing projects.’ It is unrealistic, even though I have ruled on the motion and the nays had it, you cannot do N165bn projects with N4bn. It is not possible. And we cannot give you money to embark on new projects while you cannot complete ongoing projects. It does not make sense. So, we will sit with them. It is my opinion that we must concentrate on the ongoing projects. If we are going to give money, we are going to give it to the low-hanging fruits. They will give us the projects they feel they can complete as soon as possible and we allocate the money we are going to get from the leadership to ensure that those projects are completed. And they will be distributed evenly according to geographical location. At least we will have projects that we are sure you will complete. Let us have the costs and we will approach the leadership. We are not going to allow you to continue with certain projects in 2021. I so rule”, he said.

    The Committee Chairman later called for executive session between the lawmakers and the TCN officials.

  • Buhari sacks TCN boss, Gur Mohammed, appoints Abdulaziz as successor

    Buhari sacks TCN boss, Gur Mohammed, appoints Abdulaziz as successor

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sack of Usman Gur Mohammed as managing director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    He has also approved the appointment of Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, an engineer, to act as the CEO.

    Minister of Power, Mohammed Saleh announced the change today.

    Saleh also announced the confirmation of four executive directors by Buhari.

    Victor Adewumi was confirmed as executive director transmission services provider, while M. J. Lawal would be in charge of independent systems operator.

    The other executive directors are Ahmed lsa-Dutse, finance and accounts; and Justin Dodo, human resources and corporate services.

    TCN transmits electricity to the privately run distribution companies.

    It is wholly owned by the federal government

  • Why there is persistent nationwide blackout – TCN

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN has blamed the shortage of gas for the paucity of power supply in the country.

    Mrs Ndidi Mbah, TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, explained that the gas shortage had restrained the ability of many thermal power stations to generate optimally.

    Among the plants affected by gas supply constraint are Sapele National Integrated Power Plant (NIPP), Olorunsogo NIPP, Ihovbor NIPP and Azura Edo.

    “Other thermal power plants equally affected but generated at lower capacities include Egbin (Steam) Sapele (Steam) Delta (gas) Geregu (gas) and Omotosho(gas).

    “Also affected are Olorusogo (gas) Geregu NIPP, Alaoji NIPP, Omotosho NIPP, Odukpani NIPP, Okpai (Gas/Steam) and Omoku (gas) power generating plants,” she said.

    Mbah disclosed that TCN has discussed with the management of some of the affected power plants, who blamed their challenges to gas pipeline and processing maintenance being carried out by their gas suppliers.

    ”According to the management of some of the affected power plants, the maintenance of gas facilities is expected to last for 10 days,” she said.

    TCN added that the gas supply challenges will ease before the end of next week.