Low Funding and Vandalism Hamper TCN’s Power Transmission Efforts

As Nigeria scrambles to boost electricity access and industrial growth, the country’s fragile transmission infrastructure managed solely by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is collapsing under the weight of vandalism, outdated systems, and dire financial constraints.

TCN, the sole custodian of Nigeria’s high-voltage transmission grid connecting over 29 generation stations and 12 DisCos, is sounding the alarm. Managing Director, Sule Abdulaziz, told lawmakers at a recent Senate retreat that 2024 and 2025 have been the worst years yet, with over 190 transmission towers vandalised nationwide. In Port Harcourt alone, 62 towers were taken down in just three months.

“These attacks are not just criminal they are economic sabotage,” Abdulaziz warned, advocating life imprisonment for culprits. He added that communities have been left in prolonged blackouts, with repair efforts often requiring military escort due to security threats.

Yet vandalism is only part of the crisis. The grid itself is rotting, much of the infrastructure dates back decades, with transformers and substations in dire need of replacement. Equipment needed for upgrades frequently sits stranded in ports for months due to red tape over import clearance. TCN, funded only through its dwindling internal revenue, lacks resources to maintain, let alone expand, the grid.

Despite federal ambitions for power sector reform, Abdulaziz said legacy transmission projects awarded more than 20 years ago remain unfinished. Many “low-hanging fruit” projects are stuck in limbo due to lack of prioritization in DisCo budgets and weak coordination across government levels.

Efforts to modernise the grid through international loans and programs like the CBN’s Transmission Distribution Project have made some progress. 70 transformers have been installed since January 2024 but these wins pale against the sector’s underlying rot.

Even surveillance remains basic. The TCN lacks drones or helicopters to patrol vast transmission corridors. Instead, it relies on manual patrols and community whistleblowers in a battle that increasingly feels unwinnable without stronger legislation and serious budget backing.

Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu echoed the MD’s concerns, insisting that vandalism should be treated as a criminal, not civil, offence. “We need tough laws, tighter security, and enough funding. The TCN can’t survive on IGR alone.”

Industry stakeholders, including ANED’s Sunday Oduntan, also painted a bleak picture: despite Nigeria’s massive gas reserves and population exceeding 230 million, average power output hovers below 5,500MW. For comparison, South Africa—home to 64 million people—generates over 52,000MW.

Oduntan laid it bare: “Until we fix electricity, Nigeria will remain trapped in underdevelopment. Industrial growth, agricultural processing, even artisanship, cannot thrive in darkness.”

Meanwhile, flagship projects like the 3,050MW Mambilla hydro plant, awarded in 1982, remain embarrassingly incomplete.

From outdated equipment to unresolved legal disputes over right-of-way, from poor coordination to a crippled budget, the challenges are systemic. And the consequences are existential.

“The grid is a national security asset,” Abdulaziz concluded. “If it fails, the economy follows.”