TCN: N1.7tn Required to Complete 129 Ongoing Transmission Projects Nationwide

•Laments over N600bn debt in ground rents, growing vandalism 

•Regrets difficulty in clearing goods at the ports

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said it would require roughly N1.7 trillion to complete about 129 ongoing electricity projects nationwide. The wholly federal government-controlled organisation disclosed this when it received the House of Representatives Committee on Power, led by Hon. Victor Nwokolo, in Abuja.

TCN lamented the over N600 billion owed in ground rents across the states.

Speaking during the visit, Managing Director and Chief Executive of TCN, Dr Sule Abdulaziz, stressed that the growing spate of vandalism of power transmission assets nationwide had become very concerning.

Abdulaziz stated that the difficulty in clearing goods at the ports as well as the imposition of an offshore equipment Value Added Tax (VAT) by the federal government posed a huge challenge since the tax was not in existence when the projects were valued.

He disclosed that the company had commenced the implementation of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) that will enable real-time monitoring and control of the environment to reduce transmission losses and allow for quicker response to disturbances.

Abdulaziz explained that the company had embarked on aggressive digital transformation, using data and home-grown solutions, and vendor-procured applications to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of TCN operations.

He stated, “On substations, we have 66 numbers that are ongoing; on lines project, we have 51; rehabilitation projects, we have 12. All of them, if you total them, they are 129.

“Now we have tried to come out with the total amount we require to complete these projects. The TCN needs around N1.7 trillion to complete these projects, whereas the funding we are getting is very small.

“And the balance that we have in the contract is N637 billion. But because of the inflation and escalating cost of materials, that’s why the amount needed to complete the project has risen to 1.7 billion.”

The TCN managing director added, “We have constraints, which are two. Number one is clearing the goods at the port. Then, the second one, the federal government has put VAT in offshore equipment, which was not there, it was not in the contract.”

Abdulaziz stated that TCN was liaising with the government and that Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had written a letter to the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and both of them were resolving the issues.

He said as the country’s population continued to grow, there was need for grid expansion and integration of renewable energy.

According to him, TCN has also reduced the instances of partial and full system collapses, ensuring a consistent and reliable power supply to consumers.

He explained that to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of TCN’s operations, there was need to embrace new platforms and tools, upgrade existing systems, and automate routine tasks.

Highlighting recent achievements of TCN, Abdulaziz stated that the company had expanded the grid by adding new substations, “reconductoring” old lines, as well as rehabilitating old substations.

He also listed proactive maintenance, such as trace clearing, procuring spares, improved system stability and reliability, reducing the frequency of system disturbances and collapses, enhanced safety in substations and control rooms, and improved collaboration with stakeholders as some of TCN’s recent feats.

Abdulaziz said TCN had conducted extensive training programmes covering advanced technical skills, leadership, cloud computing, cyber security, grid operations, and field engineering to improve overall and operational efficiency. 

He listed lack of funds to complete projects, payment of compensation for acquisition of transmission lines Right of Way (RoW) for various projects across the country, manual operations, and aging equipment as some of the challenges besetting the company.

Abdulaziz stressed that there was also the inability of the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay its counterpart funding, leading to delay in the implementation of the donor-funded projects, since implementation was dependent on the release of the counterpart funds.

He said it was important to speed up the federal government’s commitment to the payment of its counterpart funds to ease the process and enable quick delivery of the projects.

“The intervention of the minister is required for a VAT waiver on all power equipment in order to expedite the release of our equipment at the port for quick delivery of our projects,” he said.

In his remarks, Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Nwokolo, stated that vandalism remained a major issue in the sector. He explained that vandalism had set the power sector back in a huge way.