TCN Secures $1.4bn Funding for Power Grid Expansion

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has secured more than $1.4bn, equivalent to about N1.87tn, in loans and grants from multilateral development partners to expand the national electricity grid this year, as the company raised its transmission capacity to more than 8,700 megawatts.

The investment, mobilised largely over the past 12 months, has financed the expansion of transmission infrastructure, including the commissioning of 89 power transformers across the country.

The TCN Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider, Ajiboye Oluwagbenga, disclosed this during a training workshop on Thursday in Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Oluwagbenga said the funds were secured through partnerships with international development institutions and financiers, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Agence Française de Développement.

According to him, the investments have significantly strengthened the transmission network and created enough capacity to move substantially more electricity across the country, although the full 8,700MW capacity has yet to be physically tested.

Oluwagbenga said the expansion of the grid had come at a high financial cost. “These things don’t come cheap at all. The investment made so far, accumulated in the last 12 months, that we have secured is in excess of $1.4bn from multilateral and development financing mobilised for TCN expansion.

“When we are talking about the transmission wheeling capacity, we stand at 8,700MW. It has not been physically tested, but it has been simulated. So presently, that is where we are,” he said.

He explained that the company was deliberately being conservative in its assessment, noting that additional transmission facilities had been added over the past six months but had yet to be reflected in the capacity figure.

“For the past six months, we have added so much capacity, but we just don’t want to do that now. We are leaving it at 8,700MW. The meaning is this: where we have all the facilities, if the Discos are ready to pick up load, we can conveniently wheel 8,700MW,” Oluwagbenga stated.

He, however, said the inability or unwillingness of some electricity distribution companies to take available power was limiting the amount of electricity transmitted to consumers. According to him, the highest volume of electricity wheeled through the national grid was 5,801.84MW, achieved in 2025.

“In 2025, when things were okay, we were able to wheel 5,801.84MW across the grid. That is the peak we have ever done. It is not because this industry does not have the capacity, but because these distribution companies are claiming that this is business now. If they are not getting their revenue, they are not ready to take the power. So, that is limiting us,” he said.

The TCN director also said the company’s transmission capacity had exceeded 8,500MW, arguing that its network could deliver substantially more electricity to distribution companies if the available capacity was fully utilised.

“When you now look at our transmission capacity in TCN, which you can confirm from the figures and data we will supply to you, we already have a transmission capacity of over 8,500MW. The meaning is this: if all our transformers are fully loaded, we can successfully transmit this power to the distribution companies,” he added.

The Federal Government has in recent years intensified efforts to expand the transmission network as part of broader reforms aimed at addressing bottlenecks in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

While available generation and transmission capacities have grown, the power sector has continued to grapple with weak distribution infrastructure, liquidity challenges and the inability of Discos to offtake all the electricity generated.

Oluwagbenga also dismissed claims that transmission remained the weakest link in the electricity value chain, accusing other operators of routinely blaming TCN for constraints originating elsewhere in the system.

“When they say TCN is the weakest link, we are working there, and we know it is not true. But we don’t have to shout too much because we are a government agency.

“You could see for the past two days now, Abuja Disco is claiming that TCN is the cause of its constraint for reduced supply to its customers. We have looked around our network, and nothing has gone bad in our network. All our lines to Abuja are on. We have responded to them that no, because they find it very easy to blame TCN for everything,” he said.

The TCN executive also raised concerns over persistent vandalism of transmission infrastructure, warning that attacks on towers, power lines and substations were diverting scarce funds away from network expansion.

“Persistent attacks continue to threaten towers, lines, substations and projects. While those who attack this infrastructure are Nigerians, it is sad that they prioritise their pockets over the general benefit of Nigerians,” he said.

He said TCN was working with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other security agencies to ensure that suspects arrested for vandalising electricity infrastructure were prosecuted.

“Our staff don’t work on lines or remove anything from them except when there is an issue. So, anyone seen working on transmission lines should be reported to the police or vigilantes close to them.

“This is because the perpetrators are criminals and might be armed. So, any sighting of unauthorised activity should be reported,” Oluwagbenga added.