The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its support for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to stabilise the electricity network in some parts of the country.
The Team Leader, EU’s Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS on Green and Digital Economy, Ms Inga Stefanowicz, gave the affirmation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
She said there was an imbalance in the system, adding that there are fluctuations to be addressed in tackling electricity problems in the country.
She said: “Looking at the northern part of the country, power supply is weaker in that area. We are supporting the TCN to cut off some transmission lines that will help in stabilising the network.
“The network in the North West is ongoing at the moment and the EU is funding it to be more stabilised. Basically it is a long term vision we are working on and the project that addresses that has started since 2017, implemented through collaboration with TCN.”
Stefanowicz noted that all the organisations that are generating power were from the gas plants, adding that only 18% are from hydro.
From the electricity grid presently, the level of electricity losses from the network is very high. There are losses from obsolete transformers, wires and distribution cables as well as in the area revenue collection.
“We want to see how we can increase the distribution network of Nigeria and to support the Federal Government to meet targets by 2030.
“For distribution, we are helping to develop more, where they reduce losses. From the electricity grid presently, the level of electricity losses from the network is very high.
“There are losses from obsolete transformers, wires and distribution cables as well as in the area revenue collection.”
Stefanowicz said the EU has also been helping the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution (ANED) to develop its capacity in the area of power supply.
She identified inability to connect more people to the grid as the major challenge at the moment, adding that only about 57% of the population was unconnected.
She said the organisation had assisted those not connected to the grid to have more access to electricity through a decentralised mini grid.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to net-zero carbon emission by 2060 and climate change actions by 2030.
