Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engineer Sule Abdulaziz, on Tuesday, disclosed that over N2 trillion is required to complete over 100 ongoing power projects across the country.

Engineer Abdulaziz stated this at the resumed investigative hearing in Abuja, lamenting the sum of N3 trillion being demanded by state governments as ground rent and compensation.

He argued that State Governments are being swayed by consultants to use TCN projects as a means to generate maximum revenue, hence the pressure on the company to pay compensations and ground rents, which has accumulated into trillions of Naira.

He maintained that lack of funding, right of way, vandalism and other factors have delayed the completion of over 100 ongoing power projects being executed across the country.

While noting that TCN is not getting more than N2 billion allocation despite having projects in which billions have been sunk, he stressed that unlike In road construction, where the portion completed can be utilised, power projects cannot function or be utilised until they are 100% completed.

Engineer Abdulaziz further noted that the Company is also having a running battle in the States as a result of the right of way where people build structures under or where transmission lines are located, which obstructs the citing of electricity infrastructure.

According to him, in many instances, compensations surpass project costs, adding that the DisCos are presently owing TCN over N450 billion, which they are not paying, while government subsidies power further affect revenue generation.

He further Informed that insecurity, vandalism and other acts of sabotage have affected the execution of many TCN’s power projects.

He informed that insurgents have brought down electricity towers in many places where there is pervasive insecurity, while economic saboteurs vandalise electricity infrastructure.

According to him, such acts have been delaying the operations and projects’ execution because some of them take months to repair with a lot of money, and there seems to be no end to it.

He said, “This is where I started to mention our problems. I started telling the Chairman that our greatest problem is funding. Honourable Chairman, we have a lot of projects that started in 2001.

“After now, they are not completed. So for us, this 2011 is just medium, but we have projects from 2001, which is 24 years.And the problem is lack of funding. So we thought that we could finish this project in December, but because there is no funding, we are not able to finish it.

“I have mentioned earlier that we have over 100 or 120 ongoing projects, and we will need something around 2 trillion Naira to complete these projects”.

In his reaction, Hon. Aliyu, who presided over the session, disclosed that the Ad-hoc Committee will embark on the assessment of some of the power projects to see things for themselves in order to make informed recommendations to the House for all necessary measures to be taken in order to stabilise the nation’s power sector.

“Of course, we will go with them to visit the generating companies and some of the discourse projects. In January, we can decide, maybe if we are to take them earlier, maybe before the commencement of the physical assessment as a technical session. We can also, maybe by way of easing engagement, appoint a technical committee.

“A committee of five with them so that we can engage them more effectively. The reason is that TCN plays a very critical role in the overall improvement of this sector or otherwise. Without a reinforced transmission, without improving their capacity, no matter what energy you are able to produce, it cannot be conveyed.

“He has highlighted some very critical issues of concern that have to do with this committee pushing for an interrelationship between the government and the state. He has also said that electricity is now under the concurrent list, and I believe it is easier now to reach out to the state for collaboration and understanding so that issues impeding the continuous execution of projects that have to do with the extension of lines can be reduced,” he noted. (Nigerian Tribune)

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