Nigeria Targets 10,000MW Power Evacuation Capacity by 2026, Says TCN

The Nigeria’s electricity transmission infrastructure, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced plans to increase the nation’s power evacuation capacity to 10,000 megawatts (MW) by 2026.

Sule Abdulaziz, Managing Director of TCN, made this known during the ‘Meet-the-Press’ briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to modernizing the national grid and ensuring a stable power supply for citizens.

Highlighting Nigeria’s recent peak power generation record of 5,801.84MW on March 4, Abdulaziz expressed confidence in the company’s ability to achieve the ambitious 10,000MW target. According to him, TCN has already expanded its evacuation capacity to 8,500MW and is making steady progress.

“With the numerous TCN transmission projects completed in the last two years and new ones currently underway, I can confidently state that in less than two years, the Transmission Company of Nigeria will conveniently evacuate 10,000 megawatts of generated power,” he said.

“We have a capacity of 8,500MW as of today; by the end of next year, our capacity will reach 10,000 megawatts.”

Providing further updates on key projects, Abdulaziz disclosed that the World Bank-funded grid monitoring system, worth $486 million, is currently 69 percent complete. This Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project is expected to significantly improve real-time monitoring and enhance grid efficiency.

“Our progress is also evident in the 76.47 percent reduction in grid disturbances over the past five years,” he said. “To manage the grid in the absence of SCADA, we developed the Generation Load Drop Sensitivity System, which detects and responds to sudden drops in power generation, preventing cascading failures.”

Abdulaziz also highlighted several ongoing projects, including the new Kano-Kaduna 330kV double-circuit transmission line, the Zaria 330kV substation, and the 132kV substation in Jaji, Kaduna. These are funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and are expected to bolster transmission capacity across key regions.

In addition, the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), under the FGN Power Company and also known as the Siemens project, has delivered 10 mobile substations, seven of which have already been installed. Ten transformers of various ratings have also been integrated into the grid, further strengthening transmission capacity.

“The FGN Power Company is the special purpose vehicle for implementing the Presidential Power Initiative,” Abdulaziz explained. “Having completed the pilot phase of the Siemens project with the installation of transformers, Phase 1B of the project has been approved for the reinforcement of seven existing transmission substations.”

As part of efforts to diversify the country’s energy mix, Abdulaziz revealed that the federal government is implementing solar power projects across all 19 northern states. Each state is expected to generate 100MW of solar power, which will be gradually integrated into the national grid.

However, he cautioned that only 10 percent of total generation can currently be sourced from solar power without destabilizing the grid.