The Federal Government has approved the commencement of procurement for the proposed East and West Super Grids, aimed at increasing Nigeria’s electricity transmission capacity from about 5,000 megawatts to 19,000 megawatts within two years.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Tegbe said the projects would strengthen the national transmission network, improve grid stability and enable the evacuation of more electricity from generating stations to homes, businesses and industries.
He explained that the proposed super grids would cut across northern and southern Nigeria, reinforcing critical transmission links between power generation centres and areas of high demand.
According to the minister, Nigeria currently has more than 13,000 megawatts of available generation capacity, but its transmission network can reliably handle only about 5,000 megawatts.
He said the initiative would address the gap by improving the grid’s capacity to transmit electricity and reducing the risk of instability.
The minister added that the transmission corridors would strengthen links from Sokoto through Abuja and other locations into parts of southern Nigeria.
Beyond the super grid initiative, the Federal Executive Council approved three additional electricity transmission projects targeting Abuja and the Lagos axis.
The first involves the construction of a 33-kilovolt double-circuit line, combining underground and overhead infrastructure, connected to the Katampe Transmission Substation.
The second project covers the design, manufacture and supply of three 300-megavolt-ampere transformers rated at 330/132/33 kilovolts for the Ikeja West Transmission Substation in Lagos.
The third involves the reconstruction and upgrading of the 35.6-kilometre Itumola–Mapasin–Shagamu 132-kilovolt single-circuit line into a double-circuit line to accommodate increasing electricity demand along the Lagos–Shagamu corridor.
The government says the projects are part of broader efforts to strengthen the national electricity grid, improve transmission efficiency and ensure that more of the power generated in the country reaches consumers.
