Energy newsWe supply some African countries24-hour power supply

Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria,
Mr. Sule Abdulaziz, has disclosed that Nigeria the 24-hour
electricity supply to neighboring countries Togo and Benin
Republic, are being adequately paid for.
Mr. Abdulaziz stated this during his appearance on television
program on Sunday.
“We supply Togo, Benin, and Niger. They get power from
Nigeria on a 24-hour basis, and they are paying for it,”
When asked why many Nigerians do not enjoy uninterrupted
power, he responded, “Nigerians are getting 24-hour supply,
but it’s not everyone. Those in Band A receive 20-22 hours of
power supply.”
Mr. Abdulaziz expressed optimism that a consistent
electricity supply across Nigeria within five years is
acheivable.
“I am telling you we can get consistent power supply in less
than five years. The new minister is looking at the problems,
he is not doing cosmetic showdowns,” he said.
He also clarified that system collapses do not necessarily
originate from the transmission company of Nigeria, TCN.
“If there is a system collapse, it doesn’t mean all the
problems are from TCN, it can be from generation, it can be
from transmission it can be from distribution. Some of these
can also come from disaster. You cannot say it is the fault of

the TCN just like that. TCN are in charge of managing the
grid,” he said.
“People have to understand the difference between the TCN
and Nepa. When we were Nepa, we were the ones doing the
generation, transmission, distribution and marketing.
But now we are only doing one leg which is transmission. But
there could be issues in all other sectors which are the
generation and the distribution. But people only know Nepa
and they think TCN is NEPA and they put the blame on TCN,”
he stated.
The TCN boss highlighted infrastructure challenges, noting
that much of the equipment is outdated.
“Most of the equipment we use is over 50 years old,” he
lamented.
On electricity costs, Abdulaziz argued that electricity in
Nigeria is relatively affordable.
”Electricity is now expensive in Nigeria, we feel it is
expensive because we are getting it at a cheaper price. If
you go to other African countries, go to Burkina Faso,
Senegal, Niger; Nigeria is cheaper.”