The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, has said that the new power substation in Lafia, Nasarawa state, will boost electricity supply to at least one million households and businesses.

Stressing that the facility would become Nigeria’s transmission hub with back feed to Abuja, Ugbo who spoke at the site of the power substation, noted that it will enhance the quality of life of the beneficiaries.

The new 2X150MVA and 2x60MVA 330/132/33KV transmission substation built by the NDPHC was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari last week.

A statement by the NDPHC quoted Ugbo as explaining that before the substation was built, Lafia was served by a single 70-kilometre distribution line from Akwanga, pointing out that with a lot of connections on the way, the power that eventually got to Lafia was very dim.

So there was no useful electricity in Lafia and its environs,

he added, noting that the three-in-one project which took five years to build, has six feeders.

We expect the project to improve the wellbeing of every resident of Lafia and the entire Nasarawa state and improve economic activities as well as enhance creation of jobs.

Also because of the big nature of the project, we expect it to become the transmission hub in the country. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is already working on the connection. That is a 330KV connection from here to Abuja, to back feed Abuja,

he stated.

He noted that the NDPHC decided to build the substation essentially to step down electricity from the high voltage transmission line to a lower voltage level where the distribution company (Abuja Disco) can draw electricity and serve its customers.

Speaking on the project, Executive Director, Networks, NDPHC, Ifeoluwa Oyedele noted that though the company was primarily into power generation, it had had to execute intervention projects in transmission and distribution ends, to ensure that power supply to Nigerians was improved.

In the last 15 years, NDPHC has built 10 power stations and that is our main focus. However, we do realise that when you generate power, it has to get ultimately to the consumers and that is why we have been intervening in constructing transmission substations, injection substations and so on.

This is because, no organisation can do what we do, with the speed that we do it, with the quality that we do and at the cost that we do it. We are arguably the largest power company in Africa,

he added.

Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, had said the substation was one of the best in the country, adding that Nasarawa had become the “centre-point” of electricity transmission to neighbouring states.

Meanwhile, the TCN has upgraded its Egbin 330/132/33kV transmission substation with the installation of a 60MVA 132/33kV power transformer.

The transformer which was installed by TCN in-house engineers was energised at about 13.05pm on March 2, 2022, a statement by the company’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, stated.

With the new 60MVA power transformer, the TCN stated that the substation’s capacity to supply bulk electricity to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company has increased by 30MVA.

This is because TCN has decommissioned an old 30MVA transformer within the substation, which will be serviced and moved to other areas within its network that has a history of minimal electricity demand.

This substation capacity upgrade will ensure that more power is made available for IKEDC to take to its franchise areas within Ijede and Ikorodu axis,

TCN noted.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.