FG commissions 840MVA transformer capacity in Lagos
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FG commissions 840MVA transformer capacity in Lagos
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Federal Government has commissioned a total of 840MVA of new transformer capacity across major transmission substations in Lagos State as part of efforts to strengthen electricity supply to industries, businesses and households in the state.
The projects, commissioned on Monday and Tuesday, comprise two 60MVA transformers at the Apapa Road Transmission Substation, two 100MVA transformers at the Ijora Transmission Substation, a 100MVA transformer at the Alausa Transmission Substation and two 60MVA transformers alongside a 300MVA transformer at the Lekki Transmission Substation.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, who commissioned the projects, said the investments were designed to remove transmission bottlenecks and increase the amount of electricity that distribution companies can receive for onward delivery to consumers.
According to the minister, the projects added 540MVA of transformer capacity at the 132kV level, with the capacity to wheel about 432MW, while the 300MVA, 330/132/33kV transformer at Lekki provides additional 240MW transmission capability.
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Tegbe said the projects represented more than the installation of new equipment, describing them as strategic investments in infrastructure required to support economic activity.
“They represent targeted investments in capacity for businesses to grow, capacity for industries to produce, and capacity for communities to prosper,” he said.
At the Lekki Transmission Substation on Tuesday, the minister said the intervention had effectively doubled the substation’s transformation capacity at the 330/132kV level from 300MVA to 600MVA, equivalent to about 480MW.
He added that capacity at the 132/33kV level had also risen from 120MVA to 240MVA, equivalent to approximately 192MW.
The project also delivered nine new 33kV feeders to improve bulk electricity evacuation into the network of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
Tegbe said the additional capacity would improve the reliability and availability of bulk electricity supplied to EKEDC for distribution to industries, businesses and households in Lekki and adjoining areas.
He said the location of the project was particularly significant because Lekki had emerged as one of the country’s rapidly expanding industrial and commercial corridors.
“Lekki represents the Nigeria we are building towards, a more industrial, more commercially active, more connected to global markets and increasingly attractive to domestic and international capital,” the minister said.
At the Alausa Transmission Substation, a new 100MVA, 132/33kV transformer was also commissioned on Tuesday.
Tegbe said the project increased the substation’s total transformation capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA, equivalent to about 164MW, while increasing the quantum of bulk power available to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company by 80MW.
He described Ikeja as a strategic economic location, saying the intervention was aimed at strengthening electricity supply to government establishments, industrial estates, businesses, markets and residential communities.
Earlier on Monday, Tegbe commissioned two 60MVA transformers at the Apapa Road Transmission Substation.
The project, delivered under the Official Development Assistance programme of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, comprises modern gas-insulated switchgear, two 60MVA, 132/33kV transformers, a new control building, modern protection and control systems, substation automation and SCADA infrastructure.
The upgrade has increased the substation’s capacity from 60MVA to 180MVA, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria, with the additional capacity expected to improve bulk electricity supply to EKEDC customers in Apapa Causeway, Ijora, Amukoko, Ajegunle, Apapa Wharf, Tin Can Island and other commercial areas.
The minister also commissioned two 100MVA, 132/33kV transformers at the Ijora Transmission Substation on Monday.
The intervention replaced two existing 30MVA transformers and increased the substation’s installed capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, equivalent to about 184MW.
Tegbe said the upgrade had provided an additional 112MW of transmission capacity, which would improve electricity supply to Ijora, Costain, Oyingbo, Customs and adjoining communities within the EKEDC franchise area.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremonies, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, said the projects would significantly improve electricity transmission and distribution capacity in Lagos.
Abdulaziz said the Apapa Road upgrade would increase the volume of bulk electricity available to EKEDC while supporting economic activities in one of Lagos State’s major industrial corridors.
At Alausa, he said the project, executed by Shanghai Electric Ltd under a World Bank-funded initiative that commenced in January 2021, would provide more stable electricity to residents and businesses in Alausa and adjoining areas through Ikeja Electric Distribution Company.
The TCN boss said the projects demonstrated the company’s commitment to modernising the national transmission network, reducing technical constraints and building capacity to meet rising electricity demand.
He appealed for additional grant support for other critical sections of the transmission network, saying sustained investment was necessary to optimise transmission operations nationwide.
Abdulaziz commended President Tinubu, Tegbe, the Lagos State Government, JICA, the World Bank, contractors, TCN engineers and other stakeholders for their roles in delivering the projects.
The minister, however, said the commissioning of the projects should not be viewed as the end of the transmission sector’s challenges.
“Our transmission challenges did not emerge overnight, and they will not disappear through one intervention,” Tegbe said.
“Our approach is deliberate: Identify the bottleneck. Invest in it. Remove the constraint. Unlock the capacity.”
He said the Federal Government would continue to strengthen transmission infrastructure where it constrained available power, expand substations requiring additional capacity and replace ageing equipment threatening reliability.
Tegbe added that industrial and commercial corridors with growing electricity demand would receive priority where stronger transmission infrastructure could unlock production, investment, employment and economic activity.
