The Transmission Company of Nigeria has pushed back against claims that the country’s transmission network is the major obstacle to improved electricity supply, insisting that the national grid currently has the capacity to wheel 8,700 megawatts of electricity, far above the highest power ever generated and delivered to it.
Speaking at a four-day Parliamentary and Stakeholders’ Engagement Summit on Power Sector Reforms in Nigeria, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Sule Abdulaziz, on Monday in Lagos, said available industry data showed that transmission was not the primary constraint in the country’s electricity value chain.
Abdulaziz argued that while public discourse often portrays the transmission segment as the weakest link in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, verified figures from the sector paint a different picture.
According to him, Nigeria’s total installed generation capacity stands at 13,625MW, but the highest volume of electricity ever generated and delivered to the grid remains 5,801.84MW.
He noted that the record was achieved on March 4, 2025, when TCN also transmitted a historic 128,370.75 megawatt-hours of electricity within a single day. The TCN boss further argued that while Nigeria’s installed generation capacity exceeds 13,000MW, actual electricity dispatch remains significantly lower because of challenges affecting the entire electricity value chain.
“Before presenting TCN’s achievements, I wish to address directly and factually a narrative that has gained currency in public discourse: the characterisation of transmission as the singular or primary constraint in Nigeria’s electricity challenges. The data does not support this characterisation, and this Committee deserves the full picture.
“The following verified sector-wide capacity figures establish the true position. According to NERC’s February 2026 Operational Factsheet, Nigeria’s total installed generation capacity stands at 13,625MW. Yet the highest volume of electricity ever produced and delivered to the national grid, in the entire history of Nigeria’s electricity industry, stands at 5,801.84MW.
PUNCH
