TCN needs $7.7bn to improve power situation

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it need 7.7 billion dollars to expand and improve the power situation in the country. The TCN Managing Director, Mr Mack kast, made this known in Abuja. Kast said the TCN was working on a five-year expansion plan aimed at increasing the wheeling capacity to 10 gigawatt (GW) by 2017, 13GW by 2018, 16GW by 2019 and 20GW by 2020.

“ What we are saying is that in the next five years, we will need about 7.7 billion dollars to expand our infrastructure and significantly improve the power situation in the country,’’ he said. He attributed the epileptic power to a drop in gas supply in the country, adding that the generating capacity dropped from 4,000 megawatts to 3,000 megawatts.

Kast said the electricity supply chain comprised Generation (GENCOs), Transmission (TCN) and Distribution (DISCOs), adding that disruption to any of the segments would lead to epileptic power supply. “We have some generation issues; the TCN has the capacity to evacuate all the power being generated right now. fluctuating on a daily basis due to vandalism and gas challenge,’’ he said.

The managing director said the Federal Government was working with relevant stakeholders to address the gas challenge and other issues in the power sector.

He said the investors’ conference, which began on Monday, was put together as part of the TCN’s strategic plan to fashion out a framework for people to invest in the transmission sector.

“ We hope that investors will sit with us on a round table to work out modalities for their participation in future investment. Kast described TCN as a vital link between the effective supply and demand for power by Nigerians, and stressed the need for the sub-sector to be funded for optimum service delivery.