FG Unveils 840MVA Power Boost for Lagos, Targets Industries, Businesses

"The projects are located at Apapa, Ijora, Lekki and Alausa transmission substations and are expected to ease transmission constraints while improving the availability and reliability of electricity in some of Lagos’ major commercial and industrial corridors." Engr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, Minister of Power.

The Federal Government has commissioned new power transformer projects across four transmission substations in Lagos State, adding 840MVA of transformer capacity to the transmission network and strengthening bulk electricity supply to industries, businesses and households across the state.

The projects, commissioned on Monday and Tuesday by the Minister of Power, Engr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, are located at Apapa, Ijora, Lekki and Alausa transmission substations and are expected to ease transmission constraints while improving the availability and reliability of electricity in some of Lagos’ major commercial and industrial corridors.

The interventions comprise two 60MVA, 132/33kV transformers at Apapa; two 100MVA transformers at Ijora; a 300MVA, 330/132/33kV transformer and two 60MVA transformers at Lekki; and a 100MVA transformer at Alausa.

According to the Ministry of Power, the projects have added 540MVA at the 132kV level, with the capacity to wheel about 432MW, and 300MVA at the 330kV level, capable of transmitting about 240MW within the Lagos transmission network.

Speaking during the commissioning, Tegbe said the projects were not merely about installing new equipment but about creating the electricity capacity required to drive economic growth.

“They represent targeted investments in capacity for businesses to grow, capacity for industries to produce, and capacity for communities to prosper,” he said.

At Lekki, the Minister said the intervention had effectively doubled the capacity of the 330/132/33kV transmission substation, a critical development for one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing economic corridors.

The upgrade increased transformer capacity at the 330/132kV level from 300MVA to 600MVA, equivalent to about 480MW, while capacity at the 132/33kV level rose from 120MVA to 240MVA, equivalent to approximately 192MW.

The project also delivered nine new 33kV feeders to facilitate the evacuation of bulk power into the network of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).

Tegbe said the additional capacity would improve the reliability and availability of bulk electricity supplied to EKEDC for onward distribution to industries, businesses and households across Lekki and surrounding areas.

He described Lekki as a major economic corridor that is increasingly attracting industrial, commercial and international investment, stressing that electricity infrastructure must keep pace with the area's rapid development.

At Alausa, a new 100MVA, 132/33kV transformer increased the substation’s total transformation capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA, equivalent to about 164MW.

The intervention, according to the Minister, has also increased the quantum of bulk power available to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company by 80MW for onward delivery to consumers within its franchise area.

Earlier on Monday, the Minister commissioned the 2x60MVA Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation at Apapa, a project delivered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under its Official Development Assistance programme.

The modern facility includes two 60MVA transformers, a new control building, protection and control systems, substation automation systems and SCADA infrastructure. The project has increased bulk power availability in the Apapa axis by approximately 96MW.

At Ijora, two existing 30MVA transformers were replaced with two 100MVA, 132/33kV transformers, raising the substation’s total capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, equivalent to about 184MW.

The upgrade provides an additional 112MW of transmission capacity and is expected to improve electricity supply to Ijora, Costain, Oyingbo, Customs and adjoining communities within the EKEDC franchise.

The Minister said the projects reflected the Federal Government’s strategy of directing electricity infrastructure to areas where additional power capacity could unlock production, investment, employment and economic activity.

“Our approach is deliberate: identify the bottleneck, invest in it, remove the constraint, unlock the capacity,” Tegbe said, adding that the government would continue to strengthen transmission infrastructure where it was limiting available power.

Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, said the projects would significantly improve power transmission and bulk electricity availability across Lagos.

Abdulaziz said the Apapa upgrade would increase the quantum of power available to EKEDC for distribution to Apapa Causeway, Ijora, Amukoko, Ajegunle, Apapa Wharf, Tin Can Island and other commercial areas.

At Alausa, he said the project, executed by Shanghai Electric under a World Bank-funded initiative, would provide more stable and reliable electricity to about 70,000 residents in Alausa and adjoining areas through Ikeja Electric.

The TCN chief said the projects demonstrated the company’s commitment to modernising the national transmission network, reducing technical constraints and building capacity to meet Nigeria’s growing electricity demand.

He appealed for additional grant support for other critical sections of the transmission network, saying such interventions would help TCN sustain and optimise transmission operations nationwide.

Abdulaziz commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Power, Lagos State Government, JICA, World Bank, contractors, TCN engineers and other stakeholders for their contributions to the projects.

He said the interventions aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s efforts to achieve a more stable and reliable electricity supply.

The TCN chief added that similar transmission projects had been completed in other parts of the country and would be commissioned in due course as part of the company’s broader programme to expand and modernise Nigeria’s transmission network.