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TCN assures fully functional SCADA system in six months’ time

26 Mar 2025
Financial Nigeria

Summary

The power transmission company also hints on its capacity to evacuate 10,000MW within the next two years.

Managing Director/CEO of Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has assured Nigerians that its ongoing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project, funded by the World Bank, is 69 percent completed and will be fully functional within the next six months to enhance real-time monitoring and efficiency of the national grid.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, made this announcement on 6 March 2025, during the weekly press briefing at the State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he highlighted TCN's remarkable achievements over the last two years.

Dr. Abdulaziz disclosed that TCN, over the past five years, has made progress in reducing grid disturbances by 76.47 percent without the SCADA system and noted that in order to manage the grid, TCN developed a Generation Load Drop Sensitivity (GLDS) system to detect and respond to sudden drop in power generation and prevent cascading failure. He also revealed that TCN has deployed an in-house Internet of Things (IoT) solution as a stop gap solution to improve visibility of power generators from 6 to 27 locations within the country until SCADA is fully operational.

According to him, efforts are being made to stabilise the grid and reduce transmission losses, with the enforcement of the Free Governor Control by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), with the setting up of a three-man committee to oversee the activation of the Free Governor Mode of Operation (FGMO) across power stations. Abdulaziz also stated that TCN has also introduced an enhanced maintenance regime, such as regular inspections, preventive maintenance, and swift repairs of equipment in the system, sighting example of reactors installation in Jebba, Jos, and Makurdi to minimise voltage surge, as well as the full restoration of the 330kV Shiroro-Mando transmission line.

Speaking on TCN’s capacity to evacuate 10,000MW generated power in the country in less than two years’ time, the CEO said: “With the numerous TCN transmission projects completed in the last two years and new ones currently underway, as well as the 8,500MW current evacuation capability of the company, I can confidently state that in less than two years from now the Transmission Company of Nigeria will conveniently evacuate 10,000 megawatts generated power.”

Abdulaziz, who commended President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, for creating an enabling environment that made these achievements possible, noted that for the first time in the nation’s history, the power sector recorded a new peak generation of 5,801.84 megawatts of electricity on 4 March 2025. He further noted that TCN has been able to efficiently evacuate the generated bulk power to distribution load centres nationwide for onward distribution to electricity customers by distribution companies in the country.

On the achievements of TCN, Abdulaziz said, “Among our major breakthroughs is the installation and commissioning into service of 66 power transformers. We have equally built new transmission substations and re-conducted transmission line projects among others.” He explained that some of the projects were executed under the World Bank-sponsored projects and other donor agencies, such as the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and African Development Bank (AfDB), geared towards increasing TCN’s capacity by 9,000MVA.

According to the CEO, current transformer projects amounting to 6,000MVA have been completed and connected to the grid, including the Rimin Zakara Substation in New Kano, with five transmission substations projects completed and two energised in Abuja by AFD. The ongoing new Kano-Kaduna 330kV DC transmission line, with 330kV substation at Zaria, and 132kV substation at Jaji, Kaduna State, are amongst projects being executed by the AfDB.

On the Federal Government-Siemens projects, Abdullaziz disclosed that TCN has received a total of 10 mobile substations by FG Power under the Siemens project, out of which seven have been installed. In addition, 10 power transformers of various ratings have been installed in the transmission network and connected to the national grid, which has further contributed to the increase in TCN’s capacity. “Having completed the pilot phase of the Siemens project with the installation of the transformers, the Phase 1B of the project has been approved by the Federal Executive Council for the reinforcement of seven existing transmission substations,” he said.

The TCN CEO further explained that efforts are being made by the company to reduce downtime and improve efficiency through comprehensive restocking of TCN’s central store in Lagos with transmission equipment spare parts. This, according to him, will substantially improve projects’ completion time, fault repairs, and enhanced prompt maintenance.

He stated that TCN recognised the challenges posed by the activities of insurgency and vandals that have disrupted power supply to northern and southern parts of the country and noted that the company was collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and other security agencies, including local vigilantes, to secure power installation nationwide.  

In his remarks, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Adenuga, commended TCN Management for the developmental strides in the transmission subsector of the country’s power sector and noted that the weekly briefing was to inform the public about government’s activities in various sectors.


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