The Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engr. Sule Abdulaziz, has dismissed claims that transmission is the primary constraint in Nigeria’s electricity sector, insisting the national grid can carry far more power than is c generated.
Speaking at a four-day Parliamentary Stakeholders’ Engagement Summit on power sector reforms in Lagos, Abdulaziz said TCN’s transmission wheeling capacity stands at 8,700MW, well above the highest power ever generated and delivered to the grid (5,801.84MW), recorded on March 4, 2025.
“The national grid can currently transmit significantly more power than has ever been generated and supplied to it,” he said, adding that TCN had consistently wheeled all available generation.
The TCN boss highlighted several achievements, including the commissioning of 82 transformers between January 2024 and November 2025, adding approximately 8,500MVA of transformation capacity, and the mobilisation of over $1.4billion in development financing from the World, AfDB, JICA, and AFD.
He, however, acknowledged sector-wide challenges including vandalism of infrastructure, encroachment on transmission rights-of-way, financing constraints, and the need for cost-reflective tariffs.
Abdulaziz called on the National Assembly to strengthen legal protection for electricity infrastructure, ensure adequate funding for priority transmission projects, and support full implementation of the Electricity Act 2023.
“Nigeria’s electricity challenges are well understood, and the solutions are already known. What is required now is sustained political will, coordinated action, and effective implementation,” he said.
