The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has embarked on the upgrade of its facilities in the Benin region that would lead to more than 100 per cent improvement in power supply capacity.

Isaac Okpe, the general manager in the region, disclosed this on Thursday in Benin during an interaction with journalists.

Mr Okpe said the company had invested heavily in new equipment and infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity in the region.

To boost the capacity, the general manager said the company had upgraded from 150 MVA 330 kva 132 transformer in Benin to 300 MVA with similar upgrades in other substations.

At the Benin substation, where there were 2x60MVA transformers and 1x40MVA, he said the 40MVA had been upgraded to 100MVA to increase the capacity to 240MVA

The TCN boss also stated that a new substation has been inaugurated at Erinje, Ondo State, with a capacity of 60MVA.

“This is part of our efforts to improve the efficiency and reliability of our transmission grid and to provide better service to our customers.

“These upgrades will significantly reduce power losses and improve voltage stability in the region,” he said.

He, however, identified encroachment on the right of way, vandalism, and excavation of sand at the tower base as some of the challenges facing the company.

Mr Okpe said that though the challenges were not peculiar to the region, he urged members of the public to desist from the act.

“There are two major challenges, and they are man made. One is encroachment on our right of way and it is supposed to be 30 metres from our 33kv line, but you see people putting all manner of buildings, markets, among others, on our right of way.

“They are playing with their lives because if the conductor drops, even live trees will become ashes.

“We have radiation and that is why before TCN embarks on line construction, we acquire the right of way and pay compensation so that all the hazard will be far away from the people,” he said.

The general manager appealed to the public to stay off the TCN facilities, saying that besides the inherent risks, the money spent on vandalised equipment could have been channelled elsewhere.

(NAN)