EU to support Nigeria in stabilising electricity transmission network

The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its support for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to stabilise electricity network in some parts of the country.

Ms Inga Stefanowicz, the Team Leader, EU’s Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS on Green and Digital Economy, gave the affirmation in an interview on Friday in Abuja.

She said there was an imbalance in the system, adding that there are fluctuations to be addressed in tackling electricity problems in the country.

“Looking at the northern part of the country, power supply is weaker in that area. We are supporting the TCN to cut off some transmission lines that will help in stabilising the network.

“The network in the North West is ongoing at the moment and the EU is funding it to be more stabilised.

“Basically it is a long time vision we are working on and the project that addresses that has started since 2017, implemented through collaboration with TCN,” Stefanowicz said.

The team leader said that all the organisations that are generating power supply were from the gas power plant, adding that only 18 per cent are from hydro.

“We want to see how we can increase more in distribution network of Nigeria and to support the Federal Government to meet targets by 2030. This is helping Nigeria generate 30kilog making it 30 per cent energy mix; we are supporting them in that regard.

“For distribution, we are helping to develop more, where they reduce losses. From the electricity grid presently, the level of electricity losses and network is very high.

“There are losses from obsolete transformers, wires and distribution cables as well as in the area revenue collection,” she added.

Stefanowicz said that EU has also been helping the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution (ANED) to develop its capacity in the area of power supply.

She identified inability to connect more people connected to the grid as the major challenge at moment, saying only about 57 per cent of the population was unconnected.

She said that the organisation had assisted those not connected to the grid, to have more access to electricity through decentralised mini grid.

It was reported that the Federal Government (FG) has reiterated its commitment to net-zero carbon emission by 2060 and climate change actions by 2030. (NAN)