Signing of management contract for Transmission Company of Nigeria PLC in Abuja

The Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation on Power Sector on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to adequately fund Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Sen. Olugbenga Obadara, the Chairman of the committee, gave the advice during an interaction with senior workers of the company in Lagos, adding that adequate funding of the firm would enable it to offer quality services.

“In fairness, the transmission is weak, that is why it is not privatised along with the Distribution Companies (DISCOs).

“Everywhere we went, there was problem of transmission; if the generation is not used it becomes useless,” Obadara said.

He said that the committee was visiting all DISCOs and generating companies (GENCOs) to know their problems in order to jointly find solutions to them.

“We have been to the two DISCOs in Lagos; we are here with you to know your problem so that we know how to solve them.

“We must make sure that it works; we are to work with TCN to see that everything works.

“That is why we are calling on Manitoba which is in-charge of transmission to tell us what the problem is really.

“Manitoba will have to come down to Lagos to monitor the generation,’’ he said.

The chairman said that the committee would work with all the ministries concerned to make sure that power improved in the country.

“We have to work with everybody concerned, including Minister of Finance, Minister of Power, Office of Vice-President and the Presidency and will continue to do it,” he said.

He said that the people who invested in DISCOs and GENCOs had borrowed money from banks.

“We need to encourage them. We need to work with them and see the way out of this problem,” he said.

Mr Adeoye Oyeleke, Managing Director, Ijora Transmission Company, said the firm was facing a lot of challenges in evacuating power.

Oyeleke said that the company did not have sufficient engineers, while those in the system would soon retire.

He said that the company also lacked necessary tools to repair equipment, adding that the company often called Abuja for assistance, including asking for circuit breakers to repair transformers. (NAN)