December 6, 2023/CSL Research
According to a This Day news report, the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) World Bank-sponsored Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system deployment project will be completed by the end of Q4 2024. This was announced by the chairman of the TCN steering committee on the implementation of the project at an evaluation meeting. SCADA is a system that allows for perfect monitoring and control of field devices at a remote location. Following the SCADA deployment, TCN will be able to monitor and control activities of electricity generating companies, distribution companies and the transmission network. The General Manager, technical services of TCN, noted that the deployment will help reduce most of the challenges associated with efficient supply of electricity in the country.
Nigeria often suffers nationwide power outage largely due to the frequent collapse of the national electricity grid. TCN oversees transmission – wheeling power around the grid and installing transmission lines. It remains in government hands for the foreseeable future. One of the main reasons the FGN privatised the sector was because NEPA/PHCN had not kept up with investing in the electricity transmission infrastructure – the critical link between generating and supplying electricity to the end-user. However, the pattern has remained the same and the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure has suffered from lack of investment over many decades. Based on a report released last year, between 2010 and 2020, the national grid collapsed a total of 216 times.
From the incessant collapse of the national grid to electric sparks resulting in fire incidences, it goes without saying that Nigeria’s power infrastructure is giving way to neglect and underinvestment. There are 24 operational power plants, but many times, nine of these account for about 80% of generation due to their size and availability. The implication is that the (over) reliance of the grid on the energy supplied by nine power plants may pose a risk to network stability in the event of a sudden loss of any of them unless adequate proactive measures such as spinning reserves are put in place. However, recent efforts by TCN have led to some improvement in the last year resulting in an unprecedented period of stability in the history of the power sector. The TCN noted on its website that the grid has been operating without any major disruptions or systems collapse for 400 consecutive days.
Transmission is a critical aspect of the power value chain. The GenCos and the IPPs can ramp up available capacity closer to installed capacity; the DisCos can improve their distribution networks, optimise metering, and improve collections efficiency; and gas supply and the gas transportation pipeline network can be made fit for (domestic) purpose; but, if it is not possible to transmit the electricity produced by the GenCos to the DisCos consistently and effectively, the entire system collapses figuratively and physically. Electricity cannot be stored so that which is not transmitted will be stranded due to lack of evacuation capacity
