The Enugu State Government has commenced the construction of three new 33KV electricity feeders designed to end prolonged power outages and provide improved, stable and reliable electricity supply to communities in four Local Government Areas of the state.
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The project, which is being developed from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Station, Ugwuaji, will improve electricity supply to Nkanu East, Nkanu West, Awgu, and Aninri Local Government Areas.
The flag-off of the project was preceded by a stakeholders meeting on electricity held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, during the weekend.
The intervention is targeted at addressing the longstanding challenges associated with the Amechi 33KV feeder, which currently serves as the major source of electricity supply to Nkanu East and Nkanu West, as well as Enugu South, Awgu and Aninri Local Government Areas in Enugu State.
The feeder, which stretches for more than 600 kilometres into three Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State, is reportedly the longest 33KV feeder in the South-East, making it difficult to detect and rectify faults and resulting in prolonged electricity outages across the communities it serves.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Enugu State Electrification Agency (ESEA), Engr. Christopher Ezeoha, said the state government had decided to fundamentally restructure the network rather than simply restore the existing feeder.
Ezeoha explained that the government was constructing two new 33KV feeders from the TCN Station at Ugwuaji and extending an existing short 33KV feeder from the same station, bringing the number of new and extended feeders to three.
He said the new feeders would be dedicated to improving electricity supply to Nkanu East and Nkanu West, while the existing Amechi feeder would be reconfigured to serve Awgu and Aninri.
Ezeoha said the government would further construct four new injection substations in Nkanu East and Nkanu West to transform electricity from 33KV to 11KV, thereby strengthening the distribution network and improving the reliability of power supply in the areas.
“Some communities, including Nkerifi, Nara and Mburubu, have not had electricity for more than 20 years,” he said, noting that the state government had directed the agency to restore electricity to such communities.
He, however, said restoring the existing feeder alone would not provide a lasting solution because of its excessive length and the number of communities and Local Government Areas dependent on it.
Ezeoha said the new arrangement would substantially reduce the length of individual feeders, making fault detection and repairs faster and improving the quality and duration of electricity supplied to the affected communities.
“By the time we finish doing this work, we hope to give them more than 20 hours average daily power supply. That is what the government says we should do,” he said.
He said the electricity intervention was part of a larger plan by the administration of Governor Peter Mbah to establish a modern and commercially viable electricity market in the state.
Ezeoha disclosed that the power improvement investments would initially be managed by a special-purpose vehicle, Enugu Electrification Agency Ltd., which would distribute and market electricity in Nkanu East and Nkanu West, with the long-term objective of taking over electricity distribution services across Enugu State.
He said the agency had commenced pre-feasibility studies and the preparation of a 10-year business plan as part of the process of securing the necessary regulatory approvals and licences for bulk electricity trading and participation in the state electricity market.
The ESEA boss further disclosed that the state government was preparing its electricity distribution infrastructure to evacuate power from a proposed 630-megawatt generation facility being developed in the state.
He said the long-term objective of the administration was to provide reliable electricity supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week, stressing that achieving the target would require not only increased generation but also a robust distribution network capable of evacuating and delivering available power efficiently.
Ezeoha said the government also planned to deploy smart pre-paid meters and automation technology to improve accountability, enhance revenue collection and enable the quick detection and resolution of faults.
He explained that a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system would allow the agency to identify the location of faults almost immediately, enabling technical personnel to respond directly to affected points instead of searching along hundreds of kilometres of transmission lines.
He appealed to communities to protect electricity infrastructure against vandalism, stressing that the sustainability of the government’s investment depended on collective ownership and protection of the facilities.
He said the intervention would not be limited to Nkanu East and Nkanu West, as similar electricity infrastructure investments would be extended to other parts of the state, including Nsukka and Uzo-Uwani, as part of the administration’s broader plan to transform electricity supply across Enugu.
The State Commissioner for Energy, Mr Enyinna Ogbonna, said electricity was one of the major priorities of the administration of Governor Mbah, describing reliable power supply as critical to driving industrialisation, job creation and economic growth.
Ogbonna said the government’s electricity investments were integral to its broader economic development agenda, including the target of growing Enugu’s Gross Domestic Product from about $4.4 billion to $30 billion.
Also speaking, the General Manager of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Enugu Region, Dr Tom Inugonum, commended the state government for its efforts to improve electricity supply.
Inugonum said the TCN Enugu Region controlled transmission infrastructure covering between six and eight states, adding that improved cooperation with the Enugu State Government would help address the state’s power challenges.
He said Enugu received electricity from three major sources and had several transmission lines serving different parts of the state, but noted that some transmission and substation projects in the region remained incomplete, limiting the capacity of the power system.
He also expressed concern over the vandalism of transmission infrastructure, stressing the need for communities to protect substations, transmission lines and other critical facilities.
In his remarks, the President-General of Isi-Amagunze, Mr Okey Nwatu, called for greater community involvement in protecting electricity infrastructure.
Nwatu said transformers, cables, switches and other electrical facilities were critical infrastructure that communities must protect if they wanted to enjoy sustained electricity supply.
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