FG adds 780MVA to Lagos power capacity with eight transformers

The Federal Government has inaugurated eight power transformer projects across Lagos State, adding 780MVA to the transmission network and boosting the capacity to deliver electricity to homes, businesses and industries across the state.

The projects, inaugurated on Monday and Tuesday, comprise two 60MVA transformers at the Apapa Transmission Substation, two 100MVA transformers at Ijora, a 100MVA transformer at Alausa, and a 300MVA transformer and two 60MVA transformers at the Lekki Transmission Substation.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday, the projects added 540MVA of transformation capacity at the 132kV level, with the ability to wheel 432MW, and another 300MVA at the 330kV level, capable of transmitting an additional 240MW across the Lagos transmission network.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, who inaugurated the projects, said the interventions were part of the Federal Government’s efforts to remove electricity constraints and unlock economic growth in key areas.

Speaking at the inauguration, Tegbe said the projects represented more than the installation of new equipment.

“They represent targeted investments in capacity, capacity for businesses to grow, capacity for industries to produce, and capacity for communities to prosper,” he stated.

At Lekki, the minister said the intervention had effectively doubled the capacity of the 330/132/33kV transmission substation, which serves one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing economic corridors.

The upgrade increased transformer capacity at the 330/132kV level from 300MVA to 600MVA, equivalent to about 480MW, while capacity at the 132/33kV level rose from 120MVA to 240MVA, equivalent to about 192MW.

“Today, we are commissioning capacity, capacity for businesses to grow; capacity for industries to produce; capacity for communities to prosper; and capacity for one of the fastest-growing economic corridors in our country to continue to expand without electricity infrastructure becoming a brake on its progress,” Tegbe said.

He said Lekki had become one of Nigeria’s major growth corridors, driven by sustained residential, commercial and industrial expansion.

The project also delivered nine new 33kV feeders to improve bulk power delivery to the Eko Electricity Distribution Company network.

Tegbe said the location of the project made it particularly important, noting that electricity infrastructure must keep pace with investment and economic expansion.

“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. As investment flows into a corridor such as this, electricity infrastructure cannot be an afterthought,” he said.

The minister added that the additional capacity would improve the reliability and availability of bulk electricity supplied to EKEDC for onward distribution to industries, businesses and households.

He stressed that the nine new feeders were critical to evacuating the additional power and ensuring that the investment did not remain underutilised.

At the Alausa Transmission Substation, Tegbe commissioned a 100MVA, 132/33kV transformer, increasing the substation’s total transformation capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA, equivalent to about 164MW.

The intervention also increased the quantum of bulk electricity available to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company by 80MW for onward supply to consumers within its franchise area.

Tegbe described the Alausa project as a strategic investment in an area where government, industries, businesses and markets converge.

“Ikeja is where the ambition of Nigeria meets the industrious nature of Nigerians,” he stated.

On his part, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Abdulaziz, said the 70MVA upgrade at Alausa would improve electricity supply to at least 70,000 residents in Alausa and neighbouring communities.

He said the project reflected the Federal Government’s drive to strengthen the national transmission network.

“This installation replaces the substation’s existing 1x30MVA, 132/33kV transformer, increasing its capacity by 70MVA and raising total substation capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA,” Abdulaziz said.

He added that the World Bank-funded project, executed by Shanghai Electric Ltd, would “deliver more stable and reliable power to at least 70,000 residents across Alausa and its environs, through the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.”

Meanwhile, the government also commissioned a 2x60MVA Gas Insulated Substation at the Apapa Transmission Substation.

The project was delivered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency under its Official Development Assistance programme and comprises two 60MVA, 132/33kV transformers, 132kV and 33kV GIS switchgear, a control building, protection and control systems, substation automation and SCADA infrastructure.

The facility is expected to increase bulk power availability in the Apapa axis by about 96MW.

The PUNCH reports that TCN has completed several transmission projects across the country, while others are at various stages of completion.

The projects include transformer and transmission line upgrades aimed at expanding and modernising the national grid to meet rising electricity demand.