Nigeria records highest ever level of electricity transmission with almost 5.5k MW transmitted

NIGERIA recorded her highest ever level of power transmission this week when a total of 5,459.50MW of electricity was transmitted across the country at a frequency of 50.26Hz on Wednesday October 30.

Groaning under the impact of woefully inadequate power supply, Nigeria generates about 7,000MW of electricity but only has the capacity to transmit about 4,000MW. This has led to incessant power cuts, forcing most Nigerians to resort to the use of private generating sets, making the country the largest buyer of medium and small generators in the world.

Over recent years, the Nigerian government has sought to address the problem by privatising the sector and breaking it into regional companies. Earlier this year, the federal government entered into an agreement with German giant Siemens that will involve it transmitting and distributing power.

In what appears to be a sign that Nigeria may be turning the corner, this week, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said the power sector recorded an all-time national peak of 5,459.50MW. Ndidi Mbah, TCN's general manager, public affairs, said the power generated was efficiently transmitted through the nation’s transmission grid at a frequency of 50.26Hz by 8.15pm on October 28.

Ms Mbah said this milestone in transmission is higher than any peak ever recorded in the nation’s power industry as of date. She added that the new peak surpassed the 5,420.30MW achieved on August 18 by 39.20MW.

Sule Abdulaziz, acting TCN managing director, commended all the players in the power sector value chain for the feat. He attributed the gradual but steady improvement in the quantum of power delivery to collaboration by the sector players.

Mr Abdulaziz added that the unbridled effort by the federal government, through the ministry of power, in setting the right environment for seamless operations contributed to the feat. He expressed optimism that stakeholders in the sector would continue to work together towards ensuring the continued increase in the quantum of power available to consumers nationwide.

In addition, Mr Abdulaziz noted that the TCN was committed to working with the generation and distribution companies to ensure sustained improvement in the sector for the benefit of the nation. It is estimated that Nigeria needs to generate and distribute up to 50,000MW of electricity for the country to have steady power supply.