The Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Abdulaziz has disclosed the company is being owed N457 billion as of March for services rendered within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
He made this disclosure at a Workshop, with the theme, “Understanding the Critical Role of TCN in Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” that was organised to deepen the knowledge of the journalists covering the power sector.
According to the TCN MD, the outstanding debt includes N217 billion in legacy debt and N240 billion for recent services rendered.
The TCN boss, who was represented by Oluwagbenga Ajiboye, Executive Director, noted that in spite of the financial constraints, the company had made significant strides in improving its operational capacity, with its wheeling capacity now increased to 8,701 megawatts.
Abdulaziz also stated that the sector continued to face critical challenges such as vandalism and funding shortfalls, which undermined efforts to optimise performance, in spite of substantial investments in transmission infrastructure.
He also stressed the need for greater investment in the distribution segment of the power value chain, warning that any weak link in the chain could compromise power delivery to end-users.
He stated thus: “The electricity value chain must not be broken. Its strength must be uniform to successful deliver electricity to consumers.”
Speaking also at the event, General Manager, Project Coordination, Aminu Tahir, spoke on the issue of unutilised substations.
According to him, several newly completed substations remained idle due to the inability to connect them to transmission lines.
Tahir was of the view that delay to persistent right-of-way challenges, which had hampered progress on key projects however, TCN had secured funding from various international partners.
Tahir listed the partners to include the World Bank, French Development Agency (AFD), African Development Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support its infrastructure expansion initiatives.
The General Manager, TCN Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, asserted that the workshop was organised to bridge the information gap between the company and the media.
In her words: “It is very important to us at TCN for you to understand us well and report us better. This workshop provides an opportunity for journalists to engage with TCN experts and get firsthand information on the company’s activities.”
Nigeria power sector had been engulfed with liquidity crisis, largely due to significant debts owed operators, including generation companies (GenCos); who have in turn cried out the Federal Government is indebted to it over the tune of N4 trillion.
