To strengthen the national grid system, the federal government will be completing and commissioning of five power transmission substations and transmission lines being built at N$170 million (N62 billion) to add 624 megawatts capacity to Abuja’s power evacuation capacity this year.
According to the latest project implementation record obtained from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which manages the grid, the project began in 2019 along with transmission line projects towards boosting bulk power supply in Abuja and its environs to meet an envisaged 20-year population growth.
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One of the substations, a gas insulated substation, is being built at Dawaki, near Gwarinpa.
The substation will be ready in July, while the other projects along with the transmission lines will be ready by at most by December 2022, according to the project implementation report.
Recall that the grid collapsed on Monday, throwing the entire country, including Abuja, the capital city, into darkness. There was also a similar occurrence on Tuesday, which also significantly affected the capital city.
However, with the Abuja Feeding Scheme project funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), there would be more bulk power capacity for the capital territory, the report stated.
The acting managing director and chief executive officer of the TCN, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, an engineer, said the project comprised two units of 330 kilovolts (kV) substations and three units of 132kV substations, which are meant to solve the power supply issues in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Abdulaziz said, “The project, when completed, will solve the transmission problem in Abuja, at least in the next 20 years. This is because at present, Abuja has only two units of 330kV substations, and we are putting an additional two.
“There are five units of 132kV substations already in Abuja and we are adding three to these. And the minister of power, Abubakar D. Aliyu, is giving us full support to ensure that the contractors meet the project timeline.”
He also said it saved about $25m (about N8.992bn) in the procurement process because the financing firm, which is AFD, ensured that all the processes were competitive and transparent.
New substations for Lokogoma, Kuje, 3 others
The managing director of the projects’ consultancy firm, OskaJo and Partners, Joseph Uujamhan, an engineer, said three contractors were handling the projects.
He said TBEA and Energo Projekt were building the 330kV transmission lines from Lafia in Nasarawa State to New Apo and Old Apo at 132/33KV substation in Abuja and connect to new substations at Lugbe and Kuje.
Grid Solutions (General Electric) is building two units of 330kV substations in New Apo and Lugbe with 600MVA transformer, while Sieyuan-Sac is building three units of 132kV substations in Lokogoma, Kuje and Dawaki (Gwarimpa) areas of the city.
The project manager for the French Development Agency (AFD)-funded projects at the TCN, Jane Okemini, an engineer, said the Abuja Feeding Scheme project was providing a third source of supply other than the 330kV Shiroro transmission line and the 330kV Gwagwalada transmission line.
At the New Apo site, where a 330 kilovolt (KV) transmission substation is being built, Okemini said: “The essence of the project is to bring in a third feeding point into Abuja, and it is coming from Lafia to this substation, which is under construction.
“From here, we are going to have three outgoing lines, one to Apo, one to Kuje and the third line is going to Lokogoma. So, after the project, Abuja will be on ring at 132KV level.
“What I mean by being on the ring is that it gives us flexibility in service delivery. It will make it possible for us to move from one line to another if a problem occurs in any of the lines. At the end of the project, Abuja will be on supply 24 hours weekly,” said Okemini.
Dawaki substation ready July
As the timeline nears, TCN officials are excited that some of the substations may be delivered before the revised timeline of year end. In November 2021, the TCN began installation of the new station in Gwarimpa, Abuja with two units of 60MVA meant to reinforce the high voltage transmission ring project around Abuja, which will increase bulk power availability for the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
But just recently, the contractors at the site of the Dawaki substation announced that the facility would be ready for operation in July.
The revelation came when officials of the AFD, as well as counterparts from the TCN inspected the five sites to assess the level of work done on the substations.
The AFD team, led by the country director, Mr Xavia Murou, started the inspection at the 2 x 60MVA 132/33kV Gwarimpa gas insulated substation where he was briefed by the contracting engineers on the project level.
Murou noted AFD team’s satisfaction with the state of the project, saying, “We are very happy to understand that the delivery date will be by July, and hopefully, the communities would benefit from it. That is exactly what we are aiming for.”
Further speaking on the delivery day, Mr Murou said, “I was told the delivery day will be July 14. It is the French National Day and I am very happy to come that day with our flags so that we can celebrate with the communities, and TCN, of course.”
Also speaking at the substation, the AFD energy project manager, Anne-Sophie Rakoutz, lauded the TCN for the progress made to deliver the project.
She said, “It will clearly reinforce the stability of the grid and contribute to fixing the issues of technical losses. Thanks very much to the TCN, which has been a strong partner of the AFD in recent years, and we hope we would have many other projects like this one.”
The inspection team also visited the two by 150MVA -132/33 kilovolts Lugbe transmission substation, where equipment for the delivery of the substation was already on ground.
Engineers said the 2 x 60MVA -132/ 33kV Kuje transmission substation would boost bulk power to the distribution load centres around the Kuje Area Council.
The inspection team visited the 2 x 60MVA -132/33kV Wumba transmission substation, where the site had been cleared and power equipment was already arriving to deliver the substation works.
The on-the-spot assessment exercise by the AFD team was concluded at the 330/132kV New Apo transmission substation, which will be the third source of bulk power supply to Abuja after the 330/132kV Shiroro to Katampe transmission line, and the 330/132kV Geregu to Gwagwalada transmission line.
Projects ready by year end – Officials
Commenting on the latest project implementation level, Okemini lauded the TCN management team led by the acting managing director and chief executive officer, Dr Sule Abdulaziz, for the intervention in clearing equipment at the ports.
“We like to thank the management of the TCN for clearing the e-IDEC and demurrage at the ports and ensuring that goods are coming in for us to kick-start. And we are believing God that before the last quarter of this year, all the projects would be up for commissioning,” Okemini said.
She further noted that the projection on the project delivery timeline was still on track as work was progressing.
She said, “If not for the COVID-19 and the e-IDEC that came on stream, we would have been talking about commissioning all the projects by last year.
“We have the best contractors on these projects, and we believe that with the help of the project engineer and consultant, it is as good as done.”
Also speaking, the project consultant, Ehi-Uujamhan, said the firm and its partner sorted the initial teething problems with the TCN, and now, the projects are being delivered with speed to meet the year-end timeline agreed with the AFD.
“We have surmounted those issues and we are back on track, and hopefully, we will deliver as soon as possible. So we will like to thank the TCN also for the concerted efforts they have made in providing us with the added support, particularly in clearing the goods at the ports due to these slippages. Now, we are back on track. By the end of the year we will deliver the projects in its totality,” Ehi-Uujamhan said.
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