Edited by Gwen C. Onyebuchi
A vast multifarious revivification of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) was the purpose for which new management was established, with the avid personality and consummate professional, Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the TCN. Engr. Abdulaziz assumed office as TCN MD standing on 25 years’ experience obtained purely as he rose through the ranks in the power sector of Nigeria from Manager, Electrical after joining the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in 1996, all through to the position of Regional Transmission Manager of Abuja Region, which he held until his appointment in an Acting capacity as TCN MD on the 19th of May, 2020.
Mr Abdulaziz, through his diverse work in the power sector, came on board with versatile experience evident from the manner with which the TCN executes her duties in recent times. Experiences drawn from Abdulaziz’s earlier work as Assistant General Manager, Substation Projects, were called to bear when a power grid collapsed in early 2021. The collapse represented the first time in just over six months of his appointment that any power grip had collapsed. That record was in itself magnificent. However, the more magnificent feat was that the TCN was able to restore the system back to optimal performance in all of 40 minutes after the collapse. This level of professionalism and responsiveness is the hallmark of consumerist demands of the power sector.
The continued impasse between the TCN and Discos in the sector was a marked vulnerability of the TCN in the past, a seemly devastating strain in the relationship of the TCN and other stakeholders was constantly criticized by watchers of the industry and professionals alike; end-users were the hardest hit in the end. The Abdulaziz management is clearly handling stakeholder engagements better with media interactions and explanative announcements about power outages and even apologies coming as firsts for a power sector formerly regarded as opaque to the greater extents.
The main statutory responsibility of the TCN is the transfer of electricity from generation to distribution companies, something that the AEDC accused the TCN of not achieving due to ‘inadequate system protection’. Abdulaziz, however, has assured Nigerians of a more robust grid and improved power transmission under his stewardship as well as maximum protection of the systems all over Nigeria. As clear action points, the MD has redeployed staff based on best-case efficiency indices and better liaisons with the Power Minister, Ministry of Finance, Customs and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Abdulaziz’s administrative excellence was also required in his engagement with contractors, some of whose projects have been left hanging for 10 years, and price renegotiation was done before they continued. The initiative has led directly to the accomplishment of TCN projects nationwide. Recently, the Gagarawa sub-station was commissioned. Sub-stations in Ikeja West, Lagos, Akure and Katsina are all awaiting commissioning. Mr Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, a richly accomplished scholar, represents how appointments should be modelled going forward in Nigeria and the benefits of fixing profoundly experienced professionals in technical sectors of our economy.
AccessNews: Q1. Only a few weeks ago, the TCN issued a statement that GenCos and TCN were only producing quantum of energy in accordance with the demands from DisCos. Is it possible that the TCN is underutilizing its capacity?
ANSWER: Yes, TCN capacity is being underutilized due to load rejection or management by the DisCos. The installed capacity of the GenCos is about 12,000MW, though available capacity is much lower, the wheeling capacity of TCN today is about 8,100MW and the total distribution capacities of the eleven DisCos is about 5,500MW. That is not to say the GenCos or TCN do not have problems, of course, they do, but from the statistics, you will see that there are gaps between GenCos and TCN and between TCN and Discos which need to be bridged and we are all working together to bridge those gaps.
AccessNews: Q2. What other strategies do you intend to use in transmitting more power considering what we have now is not enough to go around the country and serve customers need adequately.
ANSWER: We would continue to build new substations and lines to increase our ability to move electricity in anticipation of more load up-take by the DisCos. Recently we completed some new transformers installation and lines reconductoring among other engineering works. Presently, several new transmission substations and lines are in the process of being awarded while efforts are in top gear to complete ongoing projects including reinforcement of existing substations and reconductoring of existing high voltage transmission lines for higher capacity.
We are religious about scheduled maintenance and have equally adopted modern technology such as the use of high-capacity conductors and stocking spare parts to ensure a drastic reduction in downtime.
AccessNews: Q3. Most times distribution companies attribute shortage of electricity supply to TCN how do you intend to address this challenge?
ANSWER: That is not the true situation. TCN has adequate transmission capacity to meet the immediate need of the DisCos. From the capacities of TCN and Disco I had earlier mentioned, you will know that our capacity is higher than that of the 11 DisCos however, both TCN and DisCos have just signed the Service Level Agreement in which the Discos nominates day-ahead, the capacity they want to distribute and indicate where they want it, and it is our duty to supply them as they requested, provided it is not below their MYTO allocation, I want to believe that such allegation does not exist anymore.
AccessNews: Q4. What are your short-term goals considering you are heading a company transmitting a highly sought after commodity with huge challenges?
ANSWER: Our goal in TCN is not different from that of the Federal Government for the company, as part of the value chain, which is to wheel stable and quality electricity to the nooks and crannies in the country. We have a graduate plan of improvement every six months and already we were able to reduce significantly the number of collapses in the country and at the same time, we are working hard to ensure TCN stands tall among its peers anywhere in the world. We are also particular about continuously improving staff welfare because as you said we are transmitting a highly sought after commodity, therefore we must have in place people who are willing to work.
AccessNews: Q5. How far has the TCN gone with the procurement of spinning reserves?
ANSWER: The procurement for the Spinning Reserve is awaiting approval from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Several meetings have been held between TCN and NERC in this regard.
Hopefully, soon NERC will approve the procurement of a reasonable level of spinning reserve.
AccessNews: Q6. How stable is the national grid?
ANSWER: The transmission grid has become more stable under my watch; this is because we have been intentionally proactive in dealing with several issues that may constitute a hindrance to the system, and have also undertaken several maintenance projects including spare part replacement, additional transformers installation, and are gradually revamping the entire system and of course we are doing these and much more with close attention to staff capacity building, which we have equally made priority.
We have also attempted to collaborate more with the DisCos by reinvigorating our interface team to help us nip in the bud, issues that might hinder system performance. The strict enforcement of the Grid Code as regards the Free Governor Mechanism for the GenCos and the gradually increasing uptake of more energy by the DisCos due to sustained pressure by TCN has equally helped in stabilizing the grid. We are doing so much more but I cannot completely speak on this without acknowledging that the Ministry of Power has given us a lot of support and the enabling environment to operate.
AccessNews: Q7. For some time now, there has been a minimal record of system collapse. What did you do to attain this record?
ANSWER: This was achieved through more rigorous enforcement of the rules by TCN through the NCC, also generating stations are complying more with free governor control of their generators. Bush burning under transmission lines have been reduced considerably through public enlightenment and rigorous mechanized line trace clearance. Our maintenance culture has also improved and staff are more motivated to give their best.
AccessNews: Q8. Is it true that you are upgrading in the National Control Center, Oshogbo, If true, what exactly are you upgrading in the centre?
ANSWER: Yes, we are in fact in the process of building two new National Control Centers at Osogbo and Gwagwalada. Also, the SCADA system is being upgraded and modernized. This will greatly streamline grid operations and optimize energy dispatch.
The two National Control Centers will be equipped with state-of-the-art grid control systems and all 132kV and 330kV substations fitted with substation Automation Systems for protection and remote control.
AccessNews: Q9. How much intervention has TCN received from its international development partners?
ANSWER: Currently, some TCN projects are funded through loans from four International Donor Agencies namely, the World Bank (WB), African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Francaise de Developpment (ADB) AND Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with a combined sum of 1.Ibn USD. The funds are addressing specific projects in the nation’s grid, within the various geopolitical zones of the country.
AccessNews: Q10. What are the challenges of the TCN at the moment?
ANSWER: There are some notable challenges in TCN which include the need for a very functional and efficient Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system and Automated Meter Reading System, poor government budgetary allocation, delay in the release of the approved budget, bottlenecks in the processing of IDEC and other port clearing documents and difficulty in acquisition of land and Right of Way for our projects.
AccessNews: Q11. Has TCN recorded any achievement since the new management took over
ANSWER: Yes, TCN has recorded a number of milestone achievements in the last 10months to include the successful transmission of an all-time peak generation of 5,801.6MW in March this year and recorded the highest daily energy peak of 119,471.15MW. Re-conductoring Sokoto-Birnin–Kebbi line from 70MW to 120MW, Ikeja West-Alimosho-Ogba-Alausa lines from 120MW to 240MW and awarded the reconductoring of Onitsha-New Haven line from 680MW to 1,320MW.
330kV Sokoto-Birnin–Kebbi Line
- The company has also added 246MW at 132/33kV levels by the completion of 1x100MVA, 2x60MVA, 1x60MVA and 1x30MVA projects at Ogba, Gagarawa, Rumuosi and Iseyin substations respectively, among others.
2x60MVA Gagarawa Transmission Substation, Jigawa State
- TCN has successfully reduced the frequency of system collapse in the last 8 months by ensuring grid stability by recalibration and reconfiguration of transmission lines and transformers protection schemes which were prone to frequent system disturbances by setting up a functional protection department in the head office and also resolved a number of way-leave/Compensation issues across the country that have lingered for many years. Contracts and projects which are under litigation and stagnated have also been resolved.
- We have also made progress in its donor-funded projects by the World Bank (WB), African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Development (AFD) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), at different stages of implantation among which is the Abuja Ring Project funded by AFD expected to address green fields transmission lines and substations aimed at Reinforcing the High-Voltage Transmission Ring around Abuja, among others.