Nigeria: TCN Plans 20,000MW Evacuation Capacity By 2020

As part of the measures to strengthen the transmission infrastructure to withstand increase in power generation, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) plans to boost its infrastructure to have the capacity to evacuate 20,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020. The country's weak transmission network has led to frequent collapse of the power infrastructure as soon as generation exceeds 4,000 megawatts because the network cannot evacuate huge electricity capacity to the distribution companies. But speaking at the weekend in Lagos at the occasion to mark the flag-off of the release of 248 containers of power equipment imported by the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and abandoned for 11 years at the ports in Lagos and Onne in Rivers State, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Mr Mack Kast said the company had massive plans to refurbish the power sector. The TCN boss, whose company would take delivery of the containers from the Nigeria Customs Service on behalf of the defunct PHCN, said the release of the equipment would bring to reality the dream of President Goodluck Jonathan in reforming the power sector. "The generation companies have been privatised; the distribution companies have been privatised. These were major steps. The Transmission Company of Nigeria has major efforts on the way. We have plans for massive refurbishment of the power sector. It is our goal that we are going to double the evacuation capacity of TCN. … continued