TCN takes delivery of 15 new power transformers to boost supply

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) received 15 new power transformers to increase the power supply in the country.

Ms. Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs of TCN, announced this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

Mbah said the transformers comprised ten 60 MegaVolt Ampre (MVA) 132/33KV capacity transformers and five 150MVA 330/132KV capacity transformers.

The transformers, recovered from the Apapa ports, were delivered to TCN’s central store in Ojo, Lagos state, for onward shipment to various TCN sites throughout the country.

Speaking about the delivery of the transformers, TCN Acting Managing Director Sule Abdulaziz said that the contract for the supply of the transformers, under the Nigerian Electricity Transmission Project (NETAP), was financed by the Bank .

He said that TCN would decide on the project sites where the transformers would be installed.

Abdulaziz said that once installed and connected to the grid, the ten 60MVA 132/3KkV power transformers and five 50MVA 330/132KV transformers would add 637 megawatts (MW) and 850MW respectively to the transmission grid.

“Consequently increase the total capacity of the transmission system by 1,487MW and guarantee reliability criteria N-1 in the substations, which is strategic to improve the stability of the network.”

Abdulaziz explained that in August 2021, the World Bank also financed transformer supply contracts that brought 10 60MVA132/33kV transformers and 25 grounding transformers.

Of the ten 60MVA transformers, five were installed in Karu and Gombe substations, while one was installed in Kano and Lagos states.

“This is the first time in TCN’s history that it received a large number of transformers in a short period.

”These are historic achievements for TCN as it strives to implement its near-term development plan under the Nigerian Electricity Grid Maintenance, Expansion and Rehabilitation Program (NEGMERP).

“The World Bank-sponsored NETAP project is one of TCN’s donor-funded projects that aims to expand the transmission network while also prioritizing the maintenance of existing transmission infrastructures,” he said.

Abdulaziz added that TCN was also running several projects financed by Français de Développement (AFD), the French development agency.

He also said that the project processes, financed by the Development Bank (AfDB), were advancing very fast, so that TCN would soon sign contracts for 330KV and 132KV substations.

The MD said that the hiring of consultants for projects financed by the International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will soon begin.