According to the Federal Government, efforts are being made to increase the amount of electricity available in the FCT and its surroundings by adding an additional 817 Megawatts (MWs) to the national grid.
This was said on Wednesday in Abuja by Mr. Sule Abdulaziz, the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), who was visiting ongoing projects in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to Abdulaziz, the French Development Agency (AFD), a donor organization, is providing funding for the TCN project known as the Abuja Feeding Scheme.
When finished, he claimed, it would add 1. 465 more transmission lines to the grid, improving and strengthening the FCT’s access to electricity..
“With the additional lines, TCN capacity of transmission lines will be higher than what is in existence and this means that in future, we can build some sub-stations without upgrading the lines,” he said.
He said the project will add five transmission substations, 143 kilometers of 330 Kilo Volts (KVs) and 81 kilometers of 132 KV transmission lines to Abuja.
“This is part of efforts to increase transmission wheeling capacity in the FCT and environs.
“The project is categorised into six lots and is far advanced in execution above 85 per cent in total completion by December,” he said.
The managing director said that the project was designed by the current administration to ensure that in the next 50 years, there would be no need for other substations in the FCT.
“This will be adequate and it will serve the population of Abuja,” he said.
“The government while making plans for the project has in mind that if the population of FCT increases within five to 10 years, there is a master plan that the station will serve the territory in the next 50 years.
“Construction of complete new 2x60MVA, 132/33 KV substation with 132KV line Bays at Wumba/Lokogoma including about 5km 132 underground XLPE Cable from New Apo Sub Station are ongoing,” he said.
Others are construction of 2x150MVA 330/132/33KV substation at New Apo where the managing director frown at the slow pace of work done by the contractor .
According to him, the contractor, General Electric has performed abysmally.
He said the contracts for all the substations were signed at the same time, and wondered why the slow pace of work.
“We have spent a lot of money to clear their containers which entered demurrage and this money is not part of AFD grant but TCN Internally Generated Revenue which could have been used for other projects.
“We are going to push them to finish the project on time,‘’ he said.
Staff Writer 
Joan Aimuengheuwa