TCN reiterates commitment to ending Ondo South blackout
Ukpono Ukpong – Abuja
The Management of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has said that effort to improve the bulk supply of electricity to Ondo South and the entire Ondo State is in top gear.
Reacting to an advertorial published by Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), in a national daily newspaper on Sunday, 23rd June, the TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, said the 132kV Oshogbo – Ife – Ondo line which supplies bulk electricity to Ondo South has long span, which affects the voltage level by the time it gets to Ondo South.
“TCN assures the Governor and the other good people of Ondo State that TCN is committed to improving the bulk supply of electricity to Ondo South, the entire Ondo State and Nigeria generally.”
Recall, BEDC in the advertorial had said that the TCN has not been able to transmit adequate power to BEDC in Ondo State and especially in part of Ondo South due to its technical constraints which have led to the existing problem of none availability of power in these locations.
Mbah in a statement sent to Daily Times, explained that the line has been fully captured in the TCN’s flagship project: Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Program (TREP) for reconductoring and voltage boosting.
“The lining project is specifically part of the Nigerian Electricity Transmission Access Project (NETAP), which is being funded by the World Bank.
Under NETAP, the existing 2 x 30MVA transformers would be upgraded to 2 x 60MVA brand new transformers to deliver more quality build power to Benin DisCo for the Ondo South communities.
The procurement process for this project has commenced.
“The 30MVA transformer with breaker problem has been taken over by Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) for rehabilitation.
Findings from NDPHC indicate that the rehabilitation work has reached 70 per cent completion and would be completed and commissioned before the end of September 2019.”
In order to further improve bulk power supply to Ondo South, Mbah disclosed that there is a plan to construct a new 330kV quad line from Omotosho to Benin North and the Omotosho substation will be fully upgraded to 330/132/33kV Substation.
Speaking further, she said that though the 2 x 60MVA substation project in Okitipupa is being handled by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), but due to the peculiar problem of Ondo South and on the order of the former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde RajiFashola, TCN attempted to take over and complete the substation.
She revealed that TCN engineers visited the substation at Okitipupa and took inventory, but could not carry out the project as planned due to non-cooperation of NDDC.
It would be recalled that TCN singlehandedly installed and commissioned the 1 x 60MVA 132/33kV substation in Akure on 20th August 2018, to boost bulk power supply in the state capital.
