THE FEDERAL Government has begun clearing more than 300 containers of critical electricity equipment stranded at Nigerian ports, as part of efforts to remove a major bottleneck to the expansion and rehabilitation of the country’s transmission network.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at a media parley in Abuja to mark his first 100 days in office, saying the equipment, including transformers, cables and other network components, will now be inspected, deployed and installed at designated project sites.
“The next task is to inspect, deploy and install the equipment,” Tegbe said, describing the release of the containers as part of efforts to dismantle administrative bottlenecks hampering delivery of power projects.
The development exposes one of the enduring contradictions in Nigeria’s electricity sector, where critical equipment procured for projects remains stranded at ports while completed or partially completed projects await components required to bring them into operation.
Tegbe said the Federal Government is working with relevant agencies to ensure the equipment is moved from the ports and put to use.
912MW Unlocked In Lagos, Abuja
In a related transmission development, the minister said newly commissioned transformers at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos have unlocked 672 megawatts of transmission capacity.
A 300MVA transformer energised at Katampe, Abuja, has added another 240MW, bringing the additional transmission capacity reported in the two cities to 912MW.
The interventions form part of the ministry’s effort to strengthen transmission infrastructure around major demand centres and address bottlenecks that limit the amount of electricity delivered to distribution networks even when generation is available.
Tegbe said technical audits have commenced along the Lagos and Abuja transmission corridors to identify weak points and direct investment towards interventions with measurable system impact.
He identified the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors as priorities for the next phase of grid stabilisation.
The minister said the immediate challenge is to ensure that infrastructure improvements translate into more dependable electricity for consumers rather than remaining as isolated gains within the power system.
He added that the ministry will publish performance scorecards over the next six months as part of efforts to make progress on the grid more transparent and easier to assess.
