The Federal Government has set a target of transmitting 6,000 megawatts of electricity by December as part of efforts to improve power supply across the country.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos during the commissioning of two 100 MVA, 132/33 kV transformers at the Ijora Transmission Substation.
Tegbe said the government also plans to commission 20 transmission projects before the end of 2026, noting that expanding the transmission network was essential to ensuring that available electricity reaches consumers.
Nigeria currently generates about 5,000MW, while the Transmission Company of Nigeria has a wheeling capacity of about 8,500MW. The government’s 6,000MW target therefore requires increased generation alongside improvements in transmission infrastructure.
According to the minister, the focus is not only on producing more electricity but on developing a system capable of delivering power reliably to homes, businesses and industries.
He said the Ijora substation upgrade was particularly important because of its location within a major economic corridor serving industrial areas, ports, businesses and residential communities in Lagos.
The project involved replacing two ageing 30 MVA transformers with two 100 MVA units. This has increased the substation’s installed transformation capacity from 90 MVA to 230 MVA and added about 125MW in bulk transmission capacity.
Tegbe said the upgrade would strengthen electricity supply to areas including Ijora, Costain, Oyigbo, Customs and Ajegunle, as well as businesses and consumers within the Eko Electricity Distribution Company franchise area.
He said the government was addressing longstanding weaknesses in the transmission network, which had previously limited the amount of electricity that could be evacuated from generating plants.
“Transmission infrastructure has been one of the major constraints in our efforts to provide reliable electricity,” Tegbe said, adding that the government was now taking decisive steps to address the problem.
The minister also praised the TCN for improving its response to faults on the transmission network, saying several recent faults had been resolved within hours.
The TCN Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sule Abdulaziz, said the decision to install 100 MVA transformers instead of the conventional 60 MVA units was driven by Lagos’ rising electricity demand.
Abdulaziz explained that the larger transformers would provide room for future growth, ease network constraints and improve supply reliability to Eko Disco’s load centres.
He said the Ijora project was financed by the World Bank and executed by Shanghai Electric Limited as part of a broader national programme to upgrade substations and transmission lines.
The TCN chief stressed that transmission capacity must continue to expand alongside electricity generation to prevent available power from being stranded.
Earlier, Tegbe also unveiled a 2×60 MVA, 132/33 kV gas-insulated substation on Apapa Road, Lagos. The project was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
