The Federal Government has announced plans to increase Nigeria’s power transmission capacity from 8,500 megawatts to 10,000MW by 2026 to improve electricity supply and grid efficiency nationwide.
The Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Abdulaziz, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He highlighted that Nigeria’s highest ever peak power generation of 5,801.84MW was recorded on March 4, 2025 and transmitted to distribution centers across the country.
Abdulaziz explained that ongoing transmission projects, including those funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, are key to achieving the 10,000MW target. Completed projects have already added 6,000MVA to the grid, with another 3,000MVA in progress. Major infrastructure upgrades, such as the Kano Kaduna 330kV transmission line and substations in Kaduna and Zaria, are also underway.
He also noted that the Presidential Power Initiative (Siemens Project) has delivered 10 mobile substations, with seven already installed, alongside 10 transformers connected to the grid. The next phase of the project aims to strengthen existing substations.
To enhance grid stability, TCN has developed a system to prevent cascading failures and is working on the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project, which is 69% complete. Once finished, SCADA will enable real time monitoring of the grid, improving fault detection and response time.
Regarding renewable energy, Abdulaziz confirmed that the government is implementing solar projects across all 19 northern states, with each state expected to generate 100MW. However, he cautioned that only 10% of total power generation can come from solar without affecting grid stability.
On the ageing national grid, he acknowledged the need for continuous upgrades but stated that funding constraints mean improvements will be gradual. Talks are also ongoing with Chinese investors to develop a Super Grid, which will help ensure a more reliable electricity supply.
The proposal for the new transmission network is currently awaiting presidential approval before being finalized by the Ministry of Finance.