A poll of multilateral donors have approved $1.57 billion in financing to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to expand transmission grid capacity to 20,000 MW over the next four years, Usman Gur Mohammed, TCN's MD, said.

Funds were mobilized from World Bank, African Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and French Development Agency. According to the manager, the transmission network is one of the weakest links in the Nigerian grid. Therefore, certain measures must be taken. These include the grid’s rehabilitation and extension with new lines and the installation of new electricity substations.

It will also be necessary to implement a significant level of frequency control by enforcing the Free Governor Mode of Operation (FGMO) as provided for in the Grid Code. TCN is also considering other ancillary services, including surplus production and black start management.

“In order to achieve the above, we established the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Program (TREP) that seeks to expand and stabilize the Grid and provide necessary flexibility and make redundancy consistent,” Mr. Mohammed said.  

Gwladys Johnson Akinocho