... commissions two 60MVA, 132/33KV

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday commissioned 2x60MVA, 132/33KVOdogunyan substation, 10 years after the project was awarded to local contractor, Laga CE Power Limited.

The new substation is expected reinforce electricity supply to 90MW within Ikeja Electric network coverage against the current 80MW.

Speaking at the occasion, Fashola said the new substation would boost power supplies the region particularly Odon la, Odo Kekere, Ita Oluwo, Agodo, Ikorodu Industrial area adding that another 132/133KVA will be commission next month in Ikorodu.

He said over 90 different electricity projects have been slated for commissioning before the end of the year while over 131 rural electricity projects have been completed by the Rural Electricity Agency (REA), awaiting to be linked to the national grid.

“This is a project that should have completed seven years ago but due to funding challenges and other issues this could not be achieved. However, since distribution and generation of power is no longer government work, in order for the companies to do work properly, government has a role to play and that involves building infrastructure such as sub stations, upgrading of transmission lines from 330kv to 132/33kv”

The Minister said, having solved that governance problem, other items to be faced include metering and expansion of distribution network adding that although there is an existing capacity of 2,000MW of power that could not be distributed, government was working to see what it could do quickly to solve the problem before the end of the year.

TCN chief executive officer, Usman Gur Mohammed said that the project was part of the world bank $300 million on International Development Association credit to support the rehabilitation and upgrade of Nigeria’s electricity transmission substations and lines.