The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has raised alarm over the worsening state of the national power grid, attributing its struggles to rampant vandalism, severe underfunding, and outdated infrastructure.
Speaking at a Senate Committee Retreat in Akwa Ibom, the Managing Director of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, painted a grim picture of the state-owned company’s operational capacity, revealing that over 109 transmission towers were vandalised between January and March 2025 alone — with the Port Harcourt region accounting for 62 of those.
“2024 and 2025 have been the worst years for TCN in terms of transmission line vandalism,” Abdulaziz stated. “A total of 86 towers were vandalised in 2024, 26 of which were completely brought down. In several states, this led to total power blackouts lasting days, even weeks.”
Despite the massive cost and effort involved in infrastructure upgrades, he said, the grid remains in distress due to obsolete equipment and an absence of deterrent laws. TCN has called for life imprisonment for convicted vandals.
“Ageing grid infrastructure with high losses is not just a technical issue; it is a national security threat,” Abdulaziz said. He added that manual patrols of transmission lines are ineffective, with TCN lacking basic surveillance tools like drones and helicopters to monitor remote areas.
The company’s operations are also strangled by funding delays, bureaucratic port clearance procedures, and failure of distribution companies (DisCos) to pay debts.
“Low-hanging fruit projects that are near completion remain in limbo as they are not prioritised in DisCo budgets,” the TCN boss said, lamenting that legacy projects from over two decades ago remain unfinished due to chronic underfunding.
Abdulaziz also highlighted the burden of Right-of-Way disputes, which continue to stall transmission projects, calling for a coordinated federal policy that ensures seamless access and timely compensation to landowners.
In response, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, urged the National Assembly to enact stricter legislation to protect national energy assets.
“Vandalism should not be treated as a civil offence but a criminal issue,” Adelabu said. “Our towers are toppled by saboteurs, and we need more stringent laws to tackle this menace.”
He revealed that TCN has installed 61 transformers in 2024 and 13 more in the first four months of 2025, ranging from 10 MW to 300 MW in capacity — investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars now under constant threat from vandals.
Adelabu further noted that TCN operates solely on dwindling internally generated revenue: “What they get monthly can’t even pay salaries or maintain infrastructure,” he said. “There should be a way to accommodate TCN in national budget appropriations.”
The Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at ANED, Sunday Oduntan, reinforced the urgency of reforms. He pointed out that although Nigeria’s installed generation capacity is around 13,000 MW, actual output is often below 5,000 MW due to infrastructure failures, maintenance challenges, and gas supply issues.
“It is sad that a country of over 237 million people still generates an average of just 5,500 MW, while South Africa, with a third of our population, produces over 52,000 MW,” Oduntan said.
He also criticised the lack of progress on the 3,050 MW Mambilla hydropower project, awarded in 1982, which still has no official completion timeline.
“Without stable electricity, Nigeria will remain underdeveloped. Artisans will remain Okada riders. Enough of political statements — it’s time for action,” he concluded.
With the power grid positioned as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy and national security, Abdulaziz warned: “If the grid collapses, so too will Nigeria’s hopes for economic expansion and industrialisation.”
The federal government is now under pressure to back TCN’s grid expansion efforts with stronger legislation, urgent funding, and better coordination across all levels of government.
