The Transmission Company of Nigeria has pushed back against claims that the country’s transmission network is the major obstacle to improved electricity supply, insisting that the national grid currently has the capacity to wheel 8,700 megawatts of electricity, far above the highest power ever generated and delivered to it.
Abdulaziz argued that while public discourse often portrays the transmission segment as the weakest link in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, verified figures from the sector paint a different picture. According to him, Nigeria’s total installed generation capacity stands at 13,625MW, but the highest volume of electricity ever generated and delivered to the grid remains 5,801.84MW.
He noted that the record was achieved on March 4, 2025, when TCN also transmitted a historic 128,370.75 megawatt-hours of electricity within a single day. The TCN boss further argued that while Nigeria’s installed generation capacity exceeds 13,000MW, actual electricity dispatch remains significantly lower because of challenges affecting the entire electricity value chain.
“Before presenting TCN’s achievements, I wish to address directly and factually a narrative that has gained currency in public discourse: the characterisation of transmission as the singular or primary constraint in Nigeria’s electricity challenges. The data does not support this characterisation, and this Committee deserves the full picture.
“The following verified sector-wide capacity figures establish the true position. According to NERC’s February 2026 Operational Factsheet, Nigeria’s total installed generation capacity stands at 13,625MW. Yet the highest volume of electricity ever produced and delivered to the national grid, in the entire history of Nigeria’s electricity industry, stands at 5,801.84MW.
“The conclusion these figures compel is unambiguous. Nigeria’s national transmission grid today has the capacity to wheel 8,700MW, yet the highest volume of electricity ever generated and delivered to that grid has never exceeded 5,801.84MW. The transmission network has consistently wheeled every megawatt made available to it.
Our grid has the capacity and our operators have the competence. The transmission network of Nigeria is ready,” he stated. The TCN boss said the company had increased the nation’s bulk power wheeling capacity from about 7,000MW to a confirmed 8,700MW, representing an additional 1,700MW evacuation capacity added to the national grid.
He described the feat as the result of years of infrastructure investment, engineering improvements and support from the Federal Government and international development partners. “Through deliberate, sustained and strategically phased infrastructure investment, TCN has successfully increased the nation’s bulk wheeling capacity from approximately 7,000MW to a confirmed 8,700MW.
This represents a net addition of 1,700MW to the grid’s evacuation capability, installed, commissioned and fully operational capacity that benefits every zone of the country today. “On 4 March 2025, at 21:15 hours, the Nigerian electricity transmission network achieved a new all-time peak wheeling record of 5,801.84 megawatts, the highest volume of electricity ever transmitted across the national grid in the history of Nigeria’s electricity industry.
On that same day, TCN set a second historic record: delivering 128,370.75 megawatt-hours of energy, the highest single-day energy throughput ever recorded on the national grid. “These twin records are not coincidental. They are the direct and measurable outcome of TCN’s years of infrastructure investment, engineering diligence, and operational discipline.