The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has secured more than $1.4bn, equivalent to about N1.87tn, in loans and grants from multilateral development partners to expand the national electricity grid.
The funding, mobilised largely over the past 12 months, has supported the expansion of transmission infrastructure across the country and helped raise the company’s transmission wheeling capacity to more than 8,700 megawatts.
The TCN Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider, Ajiboye Oluwagbenga, disclosed this during a training workshop held on Thursday in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Oluwagbenga said the funds were secured through partnerships with international development institutions and financiers.
The development partners include the World Bank, African Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Agence Française de Développement.
According to him, the investments have significantly strengthened Nigeria’s transmission network and increased its capacity to move more electricity across the country.
He said 89 power transformers had been commissioned nationwide as part of the expansion programme.
Oluwagbenga said TCN’s current transmission wheeling capacity stands at 8,700MW.
However, he noted that the capacity figure had not yet been physically tested and was based on simulations.
He said the company had adopted a conservative approach in assessing its capacity, despite adding more transmission facilities over the past six months.
According to him, the additional infrastructure has not yet been included in the 8,700MW capacity figure.
Oluwagbenga said the existing facilities could conveniently transmit 8,700MW if electricity distribution companies were prepared to take the available power.
He, however, said the inability or unwillingness of some distribution companies to offtake available electricity was limiting the amount of power delivered to consumers.
According to the TCN director, the highest volume of electricity wheeled through the national grid was 5,801.84MW.
He said the record was achieved in 2025.
Oluwagbenga said the difference between the grid’s available capacity and the amount of electricity transmitted was largely linked to commercial and revenue concerns among distribution companies.
He said some Discos were unwilling to take more electricity when they could not generate sufficient revenue from consumers.
The TCN executive said the company’s transmission capacity had already exceeded 8,500MW and could deliver significantly more electricity if all available transformers were fully loaded.
The Federal Government has intensified efforts in recent years to expand Nigeria’s transmission network as part of broader reforms in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
Despite improvements in generation and transmission capacity, the power sector continues to face challenges, including weak distribution infrastructure, liquidity problems and the inability of Discos to take all available electricity.
Oluwagbenga also dismissed claims that transmission remained the weakest link in Nigeria’s electricity value chain.
He accused other operators in the sector of regularly blaming TCN for problems originating elsewhere in the electricity system.
The TCN executive cited recent claims by Abuja Electricity Distribution Company that transmission constraints were responsible for reduced electricity supply to its customers.
He said TCN had reviewed its network and found that its transmission lines supplying Abuja were operational.
Oluwagbenga also raised concerns over persistent vandalism of transmission infrastructure across the country.
He said attacks on transmission towers, power lines and substations were diverting scarce funds away from the expansion of the national grid.
According to him, TCN is working with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other security agencies to ensure that suspects arrested for vandalising electricity infrastructure are prosecuted.
He urged Nigerians to report any unauthorised activity around transmission lines to security agencies or local vigilantes.
