• Pays N1.23 trillion of N3.3 trillion power sector debt
• Orders clearance of 300 containers of stranded power equipment at ports

The Federal Government has approved the commencement of procurement for the proposed East and West Super Grids as part of efforts to strengthen the national electricity network and raise transmission capacity from about 5,000 megawatts to 19,000MW within two years.

Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, explaining that the projects would improve grid resilience and enable the country to evacuate more electricity to consumers.

He said the government had also approved three major interventions to strengthen transmission infrastructure, particularly around Abuja and Lagos, while accelerating efforts to clear more than 300 containers of stranded power equipment at the nation’s ports.

Tegbe said the first approval was for the construction of a 33kV double-circuit underground and overhead line linked to the Katampe Transmission Substation, a major electricity distribution hub serving the North-Central region.

The second approval, according to him, covers the design, manufacture and supply of three 300MVA, 330/132/33kV power transformers for the Ikeja West Transmission Substation, a critical node supplying the Lagos axis.

The third project, he said, involves the reconstruction and upgrade of the 35.6-kilometre Itumola–Mapasin–Sagamu 132kV single-circuit transmission line to a double-circuit line to accommodate increasing electricity demand along the Lagos–Sagamu corridor.

The minister said the interventions formed part of the government’s broader strategy to improve transmission infrastructure, stabilise electricity supply and maximise existing power sector assets.

He disclosed that the ministry had commenced a technical audit of electricity infrastructure nationwide, dividing the country into three major energy zones: Lagos and its surrounding industrial corridor, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano axis, and the Enugu-Onitsha-Benin axis.

According to him, the audit, which had been underway for four weeks, would identify ageing and weak infrastructure requiring replacement or rehabilitation to improve the reliability of the national grid.

Tegbe, who said the Federal Government had paid N1.23 trillion out of the N3.3 trillion owed to gas suppliers and other stakeholders, adding that the outstanding liabilities had contributed to difficulties in ensuring adequate gas supply to power generation companies, said the government was also working to improve the operational efficiency of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), particularly in coordinating grid management and infrastructure development.

He, however, said that the projects would cut across the northern and southern parts of the country, strengthening electricity transmission links from Sokoto through Abuja and other locations to parts of the South.