23rd August, 2019

Gombe Partners TCN on grid expansion and electricity supply improvement

...State set to enjoy additional 80 megawatts as TCN installs additional transmission facilities

Gombe state will soon enjoy additional 80 megawatts of electricity and consequently witness improvement in power supply, as Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya assures of partnership and collaboration with the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN to address power supply challenges in the state.

During a courtesy visit by Governor Inuwa Yahaya to the Corporate Headquarters of TCN in Abuja, the Managing Director, Usman Gur Mohammed who acknowledged that Yahaya was the first state chief executive from the North-East to visit the organisation to canvass support and intervention for the region, disclosed that TCN will install additional 300MVA, 330/132kV and 100MVA,132/33kV transformers in Gombe Transmission Station.

He said the Procurement process for the transformers is in progress.

Mr. Gur Mohammed also assured the Governor that the ongoing 2X60MVA, 132/33kV new substation in Billiri will also be completed, adding that when it comes on stream, it will help in boosting supply, especially to communities in Gombe South and Akko Local Government area as well as other parts of the state.

He said with the TCN's Transmission, Rehabilitation and Expansion ( TREP) project, Gombe state will witness increase of about 80 megawatts which he said will help boost electricity supply across the state in line with the Governor's vision.

The MD used the occasion to brief Governor Yahaya and his team on the existing, ongoing and planned power transmission projects in the nation and North -east in particular, revealing that Gombe state will soon have multiple sources of transmission.

He took a swipe at Jos Electricity Distribution Company ( JED), describing the company as the worst performing DISCO in Nigeria in terms of service delivery, calling on them to take advantage of the expansion to invest in their networks in order to provide stable electricity supply to their customers. He said failure to improve on its services, the company risks facing the wrath of the market rules.

Earlier, in his remarks, Governor Inuwa Yahaya said he was at the TCN Headquarters to canvass for improved collaboration between Gombe state and the Transmission Company with a view to strengthening and expanding the transmission facilities as well as improving electricity supply in the state.

He lamented the lingering power supply problem the North-east, and Gombe state in particular and called for concerted efforts to address the situation.

He noted that though Gombe state is in a vantage position to access power from many sources, but lamented years of neglect the state and North east suffered in the sector.

Governor Yahaya who described electricity as the vertebral column of societal development, declared his resolve to collaborate with TCN and all relevant agencies and bodies to ensure that Gombe state enjoys an improved power supply for the economic growth and general benefit of the citizenry.

The Governor was accompanied on the visit by the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abubakar Inuwa Kari, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget, Planning and Donor Agencies Coordination, Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed and former Director-General, National Pension Commission who also served as Chairman of Gombe State Transition Committe, Malam Muhammad Kabir Ahmad.

It will be recalled that the Governor had recently constituted a 9- man Taskforce with the mandate to find ways of improving electricity supply in Gombe state.

Ismaila Uba Misilli
Senior Special Assistant ( Media and Publicity)