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Tag: TCN

  • TCN gets approval to evacuate power from Mambila

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Monday revealed it has received an approval to evacuate power from the Mambila Hydro Power Plant.

    Describing the Mambila Power Project as part of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) projects, TCN CEO, Mr. Mohammed Gur Usman stated: “We have got approval to evacuate Mambila through Eastern Back Bone.”

    Speaking with The Nation in his office at Abuja, he said that the approval was from the December 22, 2018 meeting of the ECOWAS Heads of States.

    In the meeting, he said, there was an approval of the updated version of the WAPP 2018 Master Plan of priority projects.

    The TCN boss noted one of the priority projects starts from Calabar and ends in Kano.

    His words: “One of the priority projects is the Eastern Backbone which will start from Calabar and end in Kano.

    “It is 330KV double socket. That project will enable us to connect with Central African Power Pool through Ikom. It will also send power to the most neglected parts of Nigeria.”

    Read Also: APC desperate to remove CJN over 2019 elections, says PDP

    The most neglected parts, according to him, are northern Cross River and Taraba State.

    He explained the Mambila hydro is part of the WAPP project that has come up with an updated study for energy to be evacuated from where it is cheaper to where it is more expensive.

    Nigeria, he said, is the largest trader of electricity in West Africa and the updated study is seeking to evacuate energy to Central African Power Pool and North Africa Power pool.

    This, according to him, requires transmission line in the east of Nigeria.

    He opened up on the issue of electricity distribution in the Benin axis, saying that it has enough of power the Benin Electricity Company (BEDC) is not demanding for.

    He said that “I can tell you generally that we have a lot of power that BEDC is not taking.”

    According to him, most of the distribution companies were sold to firms that lack experience and capacity to raise sufficient investments.

    The TCN boss, who revealed two transformers were blown-up in Benin two months ago, revealed the Benin DisCo admitted that one of the last transformers that sparked there was caused by them.

    According to him: “Benin DisCo admitted that one of the last transformers that got spoilt in Benin was caused by them.

    “They even wrote to us to say they are willing to fix it. The point is that do you fix a transformer in one day? So we have to carry a transformer from somewhere and fix it.

    “The problem we have with most of the distribution companies is that we sold our companies to mostly to companies that have no experience. And they don’t have capacity to raise enough investments.”

    He insisted the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission should approve an extraordinary tariff review for the operation of the company.

    He said that the organization needs the up review to meet up with its liability.

    According to him, TCN needs a cost reflective tariff to repay the loan it took from multilateral donor agencies.

  • Osun is Nigeria’s heart of power transmission, says TCN

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has described Osun State as the heart of power transmission in the country because of the weight of power facility domiciled in the state.

    The company’s Managing Director Usman Muhammed spoke at the weekend when he visited Governor Gboyega Oyetola in Osogbo, the state capital.

    He said: “Osun is significant to us as a company. Osogbo, the state capital, remains the heart of TCN in this country.

    “We are here to visit Mr Governor to strengthen our partnership and ensure improvement in our service delivery to the country.

    “Right now, Osun has six transmission lines while two are virtually ready for installation to make them eight. Osun also has five sub-stations, making the state to be outstanding.

    “These are milestones because many other states don’t even have one transmission line.

    “As a sensitive company, efforts have been improved upon to meet the national electricity requirement by making the NCC a real National Control Centre.

    “So, we are ready to work with the Osun State government to expand its electricity capacity for the development of the state.”

    Muhammed, who was accompanied by top officials, said TCN under his watch had recorded great achievements and completed many projects which were previously abandoned.

    The TCN chief said his team’s efforts led to the improvement in electricity transmission being witnessed in recent times.

    He said the company decided to collaborate with the Osun in cognisance of the state’s economic potential.

    Oyetola described Osun as an investment destination because of the relatively stable electricity supply.

    Osogbo, the state capital, especially enjoys an average of 16 hours of electricity supply daily, making it attractive to investors, the governor said.

    “An investor who can have not less than 16 hours of electricity supply has the problem of energy supply solved,” he added.

    Oyetola hosted the TCN delegation with Deputy Governor Benedict Alabi, the Supervisor for Finance Bola Oyebamiji, the Supervisor for Agriculture, Dr. Charles Akinola, among others.

    The governor hailed the company’s management for its high sense of diligence and commitment to duty.

    He said the TCN deserved to be praised for the relative stability of power supply in the country.

  • TCN to repay loan with tariff hike

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)  plans to repay its loan with the an ‘extraordinary’ tariff review, the approval of which has been pending with the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) since last year, it was gathered yesterday.

    The company is currently collecting a tariff that is lower than what it ought to collect, hence, the request for a cost reflective tariff. From the existing tariff, the TCN gets between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of what the electricity market monthly revenue.

    According to a source, “once we have a cost reflective tariff, we will pay our debt;  we are not taking loan to leave it as a problem for children and children yet unborn. TCN is going to pay its own debt.”

    The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed had lamented in Abuja that the company presented the tariff hike plan to NERC for approval, stressing that “unfortunately up till now, it has not been approved.”

    He said the government has not neglected the TCN since it has supported it to secure funds from multilateral donor agencies.

    The TCN boss added that: “This is why we have been able to raise this amount that has never been raised in the history of the power sector.”

    But the insider source, who spoke with The Nation in confidence yesterday, revealed  that “l believe that very soon we will have a cost reflective tariff.

    “What we want to assure Nigerians is that once we have cost reflective tariff the loan we are taking is not going to be a burden on the nation. TCN will pay its own loan. I want to you that the Eurobond we take. TCN is paying the loan, it is not allowing government to pay. We are on track on paying that Eurobond.”

  • BEDC, TCN settle rift

    The Benin Electricity Distribution Company  (BEDC) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Benin Zone, have resolved to work together for the satisfaction of customers in the power sector.

    Both firms held a meeting where they agreed to a resolution that they would continue to work together as critical partners in the power sector value chain that are dependent on each other.

    The meeting was held as TCN prepared to move a replacement transformer from Irrua to Benin City to tackle power outage affecting some parts of the metropolis.

    In her address, Managing Director of BEDC, Mrs. Funke Osibodu said the reality of the power sector value chain was that none could survive without the other.

    She advised operators against dabbling into the political undertone of power.

    She said it was better to pool resources together in the network to assist and avoid political undertone.

    Mrs Osibodu stressed the need for the two parties to work together to achieve customer satisfaction and advised both TCN and BEDC workers to be careful by respecting the business and technical components of their operations.

    “Without customer demand there is no DisCo, without TCN passing power to the DisCo there is nothing to distribute and without the GenCos there is no generation. No one leg of the value chain can function without the other hence all parts are important,” she said.

    General Manager, Benin Zone of TCN, Engr. Jimi Adetola, said there must be synergy between the BEDC and the TCN.

    He said the meeting addressed operational issues affecting both parties that are members of the power sector value chain.

  • TCN targets 20,000 megawatts by 2021

    •Discos urged to provide electricity meters

    THE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said yesterday that it intends to expand its delivery capacity to 20,000 megawatts by 2021.

    Its Managing Director, Usman Mohammed, stated this while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said: “We have established transmission, rehabilitation and expansion programme. The main objective of this is to rehabilitate, stabilise and expand the delivery capacity of TCN to at least 20,000 megawatts by 2021 and we are on track.”

    He also urged the various distribution companies (DISCOs) in Nigeria to provide electricity meters for consumers as part of measures to solve the nation’s power challenges.

    According to him, Nigerian consumers are ready to pay their electricity bills, if only they are sure they are being billed appropriately.

    He said: “Besides, the excuse of consumers being too poor to afford electricity tariffs does not really hold water, and this can be confirmed if they are provided with meters to save them from the widespread arbitrariness of estimated billing.”

    He described the argument of inadequate power supply as being responsible for failure to pay bills as a “chicken and egg” dilemma.

    This, he said, can be resolved by allowing the consumer pay for only the amount of electricity he or she uses.

    According to him, smaller and poorer countries, like Burkina Faso, have achieved as much as 98 per cent electricity transmission because they took up the challenge of regulated and metered electricity supply to consumers.

    Read also: BEDC, TCN settle rift for consumers satisfaction

    Such efficiency, he said, allows Burkina Faso to buy energy from neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire without owing any debts.

    Mohammed said Nigeria’s transmission capacity presently stands at 8,100 megawatts although only about 5,000 megawatts can be taken up by the DISCOs.

    He assured that the TCN would continue to expand its capacity while the DISCOs strive to expand theirs, towards ensuring improved power supply.

    The TCN boss said transmission capacity improvement by over 3,000 megawatts between February and December was an indication that the rehabilitation and expansion programme embarked upon was on track.

     

     

     

  • TCN to recover power containers auctioned by Customs 

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is set to recover 200 containers auctioned by the Nigeria  Customs Service (NCS) outside the ports, its Managing Director, Usman Mohammed, has assured.

    He said the containers were filled with power equipment imported from abroad, adding that TCN is convinced that the containers would be recovered soon, and thereafter taken to where they are needed for the growth of the sector.

    In a statement, Mohammed said TCN has recovered 693 out of over 800 containers that were brought into the country by the previous governments, in order to improve power generation, distribution and transmission.

    He said the containers were stranded at various ports, due to the failure of the past government to pay the necessary charges on them.

    He said: “TCN has been able to recover 693 out of over 800 containers, that were imported by the government and scattered around the countries. Some of these containers are in various ports for more than fifteen years.

    “ Some of the containers have been auctioned by the officials of the NCS and we have to trace the auctioneers, with a view to getting the containers back. The government is supporting TCN in order to recover  the containers, and I know that as the government have beamed its searchlight on the distribution companies, they are going to solve the problems in the distribution companies, by helping them to get the facilities they need for operation, including the power containers that are missing.”

    According to him, the government was set to solve the problems in the distribution arm of the sector, adding that modalities have been put in place to address the crises besetting the growth of the industry.

    In a related development, the Minister of Power, Housing and Works, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, said the Federal Government is committed to the provision of equipment needed to ensure steady power supply.

     

     

  • TCN restores 150MVA transformer in Kano

    Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said it has successfully restored power trasmission through its 150MVA power transformer in Kumbosto power substation, Kano State.

    The transformer developed a slight fault last Monday caused TCN to shut down the transformer to enable it fix the fault.

    The company in a statement signed by its General Manager Public Affairs Mrs. Ndidi Mbah said, “The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) hereby state that it has successfully restored power transmission through its 150MVA power transformer in Kumbosto substation.

    ”The transformer which developed a slight fault on Monday 29th October 2018 at 11:51Hrs, caused TCN to shut down the transformer to enable them fix the fault. TCN engineers worked hard to ensure that the transformer is quickly repaired and brought back into circuit. Work on the transformer was complete today and power transmission through the transformer restored at 16:20Hrs.

    ”The company apologised to electricity customers in Dutse, Hadejia, Challawa industrial area, Nassarawa GRA, Hotoro/Tarauni GRA, Zoo road, Kano city, part of Sabon Gari and Panshekara who take supply through KEDCO from the restored 150MVA transformer and pledged to continue to work hard to ensure quick resolution to any problem in the transmission grid.” The statement read.

  • Power supply dips to 2006mw

    …as transmission line trips North East to blackout

     

    The power supply from the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry ( NESI ) at the weekend dropped to 83,570.30mwh (2006mw), according to the Independent System Operator (ISO) of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    Its operational report of Sunday showed that the industry recorded a peak generation of 4,452mw and lowest generation of 3,041mw on the previous day.

    The report also noted that “energy recorded on 22/09/2018 was 83,570.30MWH.” It however added that the generation at 06:00hour on Sunday was3,340mw.

    The TCN however explained in a press statement that due to the tripping on fault of the Jos-Gombe 330kV Transmission Line, which had just undergone Annual Scheduled Maintenance, the North Eastern States including Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa Borno, Yobe and Taraba are currently out of power supply.

    Its General Manager Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, who issued the statement noted that the line tripping occurred on 19:09 hour Saturday after it was re-energized.

    All efforts are being made by the company’s line engineering crew to resolve the problem and restore the transmission line accordingly.

    The statement added that the company took advantage of the outage to undertake the Annual Scheduled Maintenance of the 330kV transmission line from Jos to Gombe.

    After the maintenance work has been completed by the combined engineering maintenance crew from Gombe and Jos Transmission Substations, the transmission line was reclosed and energized at about 15:09 hours Saturday at 19:09 hours however, the line tripped due to fault on the line. TCN quickly initiated the patrol of the transmission line to detect and rectify the fault.

    The release noted that as at 18:30pm, on Monday, the line engineering crew patrolling the Jos part of the 330kV transmission line has completed investigations on that part of the line, while the Gombe part of the transmission line trace is still ongoing. The entire line cannot be energized until both ends of the line trace have been concluded. Once completed, the findings would be analyzed and faults cleared, TCN will then re-energized the transmission line.

    Mbah said that the “TCN sincerely regrets inconveniences caused by the outage and also apologizes to the Government and people of the six North Eastern states affected by the outage, while assuring that efforts are ongoing to ensure a speedy completion of the transmission line trace and faults clearance in other to reclose and energize the 330kV transmission line. Please bear with us.”

  • TCN explains power outage in North-East states

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the current power outage in some North East states was due to a tripping, caused by a fault on the Jos-Gombe 330kv transmission line.

    TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah stated this in a statement on Monday in Abuja, adding that the problem occurred shortly after the annual scheduled maintenance on the transmission line.

    According to her, the line tripping occurred at about 19:09, on Sept. 22, shortly after it was re-energised.

    She said efforts were being made by TCN line engineering crew to resolve the problem and restore the transmission line accordingly.

    “TCN shot down on Sept. 22, to undertake the annual scheduled maintenance on the 330 kv transmission line from Jos to Gombe.

    “After the maintenance work had been completed by combined engineering maintenance crew from Gombe and Jos transmission substations, the transmission line was reclosed and energised at about 15:09 hours on the same day at 19:09 hours.

    “However, the line tripped due to a fault on the line and TCN quickly initiated the patrol of the transmission line to detect and rectify the fault,’’ Mbah said.

    She said efforts were ongoing to rectify the problem so as to reclose and energise the 330kv transmission line.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that states affected by the outage include Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Taraba.

  • TCN boosts electricity to Auchi, Okpella

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Saturday commissioned new power transformers at Okpella substation to boost electricity supply to Edo north, especially in major towns of Auchi, Okpella and Igarra.

    The 1x60MVA ,132,33kv power transformer would also service some major towns in Estako, and Akoko Edo local governments.

    TCN had also successfully installed 40MVA at Auchi 132, 33kv substation.

    The new installation at Okpella was to improve on the old 1x15MVA,132/33Kv substation which had limited capacity to adequately supply electricity to Okpella, BUA cement company, Aghenebode town and environs.

    Because of the limitation, TCN awarded the contract for the reinforcement of the substation in 2012 to Messers Power Control and Appliances (PCA) to add 1×60 MVA,13/33kv transformer to increase the quality of supply in the area.

    The Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC), Prof. James Momoh, commissioned the transformer in company of Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo.

    He said communities in Edo north had been experiencing poor electricity supply over the years.

    He said that this had impacted negatively on the industrial development of the zone and the state in general.

    “The villages around here witness low voltage, meaning there is no impact in development, it cannot touch industrialisation that we want because the quality of supply is very low.

    “Because we are unable to harness power, industries cannot spring up in Edo, where we have all the vegetation, we have all the minerals.

    “The lop-sidedness in supply made it very impossible for distribution to get to our villages.“

    He explained that the provision of the new additional power transformer in the substation was for the interest of the Edo people, adding that the Okpella community must maintain and protect the facility.

    “It will serve Okpella cement factory, it will serve other people, but we want to make sure we create jobs, we create industries. It will bring relief to our people; it will transform the economy of the state.“

    Momoh, who promised to ensure improved power supply in Edo also commended TCN management and its in-house engineers for installing the power transformer.

    “TCN engineers have done many installations in the country, they are saving money for Nigeria.“

    Responding, Obaseki said that the initiative of TCN had just ignited the starting of industrial revolution in the state.

    “We thanked TCN and NERC for what they are doing in the electricity industry.
    “The issue of electricity supply was at the front burner during my campaign and you have help up spark up electricity supply via this initiative by increasing the capacity of the substation with over 300 per cent.

    He said that the state government would continue to support TCN in the discharge of its duties, especially on resolving the onerous challenge of right of way on transmission lines.

    He appealed to NERC to prevail on Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to improve its supply to customers, saying that BEDC was underperforming in the state.

    The Managing Director of TCN, Mr Usman Mohammed said that the installation of the 60MVA 132,33kv in Okpella was consistent with the industrial policy of Edo government.

    He attributed it to the existence of huge mineral deposits like limestone in the area.

    He said that the installation would improve power supply to BUA cement company, Aghenebode town, Igara and many other communities in the state.
    According to Mohammed, the installation of the 1x60MVA at Okpella substation will also increase the total wheeling capacity of TCN to 7,124MW.

    He said that TCN would soon complete the installation of another 30MVA on the station and re-conduct the Benin, Irua Auchi, Okpella, and Okene 132 substations.

    He said that this would enable the optimum use of the capacity being installed on the Okpella station.

    “We are adding 100MVA at Irua, 150MVA at Benin, and another 100MVA at Benin transmission station,’’ he said. (NAN)