The federal government is set to raise the electricity grid by 96 megawatts (mw) as it completes the new 330 kilovolts Akure transmission substation in Ondo State.
The executive director, Transmission Service Provider at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Victor Adewumi, an engineer, said this on Saturday while inspecting the project at 98 per cent completion, saying the Minister of Power, Abubakar D. Aliyu, an engineer, had directed the TCN to accelerate the energising of the Akure mega substation with two of 150MVA and two of 60MVA transformers for commissioning in five months.
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“It can deliver 96 megawatts of electricity to the good people of Ondo and Ekiti states,” the TCN official said.
Adewumi said the commissioning was hindered by right of way issues for the 330kv transmission line construction project from Osogbo in Osun State and another line from Ihovbor (Benin) in Edo.
He said, “This is one of the projects the minister has termed as priority, which he wants to commission before the end of this year. It is ready, and we are hoping that in five months we would commission this station.
“What we are trying to do now is to redesign the existing line from Benin to Osogbo, which is not too far. We will bring that line and turn it in and out. We believe that in five months, that line would be ready to power this station and be commissioned,” Adewumi assured.
The general manager, Engineering at the TCN, Shehu Abba Aliyu, an engineer, said the new substation would address epileptic power in Ekiti and improve supply in Ondo State.
“In terms of voltage profile, this station is very close to Ihovbor and Azura in Edo State, so industries that are sensitive to energy load can relocate here and make use of the high quality supply from the TCN,” Aliyu noted.
