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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said it has the capacity to transmit up to 8,700 megawatts (MW) of electricity across the national grid if electricity distribution companies (DisCos) are ready and able to take the available power.
The Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP) of TCN, Engr. Oluwagbenga Ajiboye, disclosed this at a workshop organised by the company in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Ajiboye said TCN had significantly expanded its transmission and transformation capacity in the past six months through investments in infrastructure and the addition of new power transformers.
He, however, explained that the 8,700MW capacity had not yet been physically tested on the national grid, although TCN had simulated the system and established that its infrastructure could handle the volume.
“We are leaving it at 8,700. The meaning is this: where we have all the facilities, if the DisCos are ready to pick up the load here, we can conveniently wheel 8,700 megawatts,” he said.
The TCN executive director said the major challenge was no longer simply the availability of transmission capacity, but the willingness and ability of DisCos to take electricity to areas where it was needed.
According to him, DisCos have often complained that the locations where they require electricity do not always correspond with areas where TCN has available capacity.
“But I keep on asking one question. Who in Nigeria doesn’t deserve to have power? Why is it that you don’t want to take power to some places? These are the problems and the questions we should be asking ourselves. Who doesn’t deserve power? Who doesn’t deserve it in Nigeria?” he asked.
Ajiboye argued that the transmission network had made significant progress and should no longer be blamed for all the challenges facing electricity supply in the country.
He recalled that the national grid transmitted a record 5,801.84MW in 2025, describing it as the highest volume TCN had successfully wheeled across the grid.
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“It’s not because this industry doesn’t have the capacity, but because the distribution companies are claiming that this is business. If they are not getting their revenue, they are not ready to take the power. So, that is limiting us,” he said.
The TCN official challenged stakeholders who doubted the company’s claim to visit its substations and independently verify the capacity of its transformers.
He said TCN currently had more than 8,500MW of transformation capacity, which, he explained, would enable the company to transmit a significantly higher volume of electricity if the transformers were fully utilised.
“When you now look at our transformation capacity in TCN, which you can confirm from the figure and data we will supply to you, and if you have the opportunity and you have the time, you can decide to visit all our substations and decide to take the nameplate of all our transformers. We already have transformation capacity of over 8,500 plus.
“The meaning is this: if all our transformers are fully loaded, we can successfully transmit this power to distribution companies,” he assured.
Ajiboye further disclosed that TCN had added about 89 power transformers to its network as part of efforts to strengthen the transmission system and accommodate more electricity.
He said the company had also recently installed more transformers in Lagos through interventions supported by the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“Three weeks ago, we added over three transformers in Lagos courtesy of the World Bank and JICA,” he said.
The development comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government and other stakeholders to increase electricity generation, strengthen the national grid and improve power supply to homes and businesses.
Ajiboye’s comments suggest that while expanding generation remains important, the ability of DisCos to receive, distribute and sell available electricity will also be critical to ensuring that additional power generated and transmitted reaches consumers.
