The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Thursday announced the addition of 600 megawatts to the national grid.
Sule Abdulaziz, TCN’s managing director and chief executive officer, declared this during the official commissioning of the Ihovbor/Benin and Ihovbor/Ajaokuta 330kV turn-in/turn-out transmission line projects in Edo State.
Abdulaziz stated that the project was another step forward in the country’s joint effort to expand its transmission network, allowing it to evacuate more bulk electricity from the Ihovbor transmission substation to distribution load centers across the country.
He added: “This project involves the strategic linking of the existing Benin/Ajaokuta 330kV transmission line to the Ihovbor Transmission Substation, creating two new transmission routes with a total length of 14 kilometers.
“With the completion of this strategic project, we have increased the operational flexibility of the transmission network and strengthened the resilience of power delivery within the Benin corridor through this connection to the power plant.
“The importance of this project cannot be overstated. It grants TCN the ability to more efficiently evacuate power generated by the Azura Power Plant and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company plant.
“This has equally helped in alleviating transmission bottlenecks and enhanced system reliability while allowing the distribution companies access to more bulk electricity for their customers nationwide. With this, we have added 600 megawatts to the national grid.”
The TCN MD, who noted that with the nation’s grid system, the new transmission line would enable more efficient wheeling of bulk electricity to any part of the country, added, “With the grid system, power generated from the Benin axis can easily be wheeled to any part of the country.”
He added, “Beyond the enhanced flexibility in power evacuation, this project is another step towards our goal of developing a strong and efficient transmission grid. It also showcases TCN’s dedication to ongoing improvement, innovation, and collaboration with stakeholders in the power sector.
“Before, there was power that was generated without evacuation, but now we are going to evacuate more power, which means Nigerians would be getting a more powerful supply.”
