AEDC Earmarks N1bn for Nasarawa Power Evacuation Project

Mr Oyebode Fadipe, AEDC’s General Manager, Corporate Communications in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday said that the project was designed to significantly improve power supply across Nasarawa state and its environs.

Fadipe said that the project was designed to evacuate power from the two new 150 Mega Volt Amp (MVA) 330/132Kilo Volt (KV) and two other 60MVA 132/33KV transmission substations at Akurba.

He said that the project was being built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).

He said that the project was an intervention scheme designed to step down bulk power for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from the 330KV Ikot-Ekpene-Ugwuaji-Apir-Jos transmission line.

According to him, the AEDC Managing Director, Mr Ernest Mupwaya, was recently at the project site to inspect the extent of work done on the project.

He quoted Mupwaya as saying that the company was preparing its networks for the evacuation of the load that would become available from the transmission facility slated for completion in the first quarter of 2020.

The managing director noted that AEDC was committed to ensuring that electricity get to the homes and offices of consumer and was fully aware of the need to play its own role in the project.

“The TCN project will provide a massive boost in power supply potential to Nasarawa State up to Southern Kaduna and even parts of Plateau.

“ There will be more hours of electricity available on the network and a significant improvement in the voltage profile of the state.

“However, if we do not play our own part, that power will not get into people’s homes. We are putting all efforts at ensuring the project is completed in good time. We will leave no stone unturned,’’ he said.

Mapwaya said that the evacuation project include the construction of four 33KV feeders, a new 5MVA injection substation for the rice mill in Lafia, take-off bays for the new two units of 60MVA 132/33KV Akurba Transmission Station in Lafia.

“The rehabilitation of existing 33KV and 11KV distribution lines across the state and the relief and upgrading of distribution transformers.

“It also includes the upgrade of two units of 1MVA injection substations to 5.0MVA at Awe and Keana areas, and the upgrade of a 2.5MVA injection substation at Obi to a 5MVA injection substation.

“Since the project started in September 2019, over N160 million out of N1.04 billion has been committed to key constructions in the first phase,’’ he said.

He said that with the completion of the project, customers in Akwanga and environs would began to enjoy power supply directly rather the present situation where they split their power supply with Lafia.

Mupwaya said that with the commissioning of the TCN facility and the completion of the AEDC substation, customers in the state would soon begin to enjoy better power supply.

He said that facility would boost the quality of life and serve as catalyst for socio-economic growth and development of the state.

Mupwaya, emphasised the readiness of Distribution Company (DisCo) to improve its service delivery, “so it is necessary for massive clean-up exercise of power supply to homes and offices in order to ensure safety of human lives and property”.

He said earlier in 2018, AEDC deployed its engineers to rehabilitate the 33KV power distribution line from Keffi to Mararaba to ensure that the DisCo evacuate more power from the upgraded 132/33kV Keffi transmission substation.