Emmanuel Nnorom: Power transmission a big problem | TCN unbundling will improve sector

Emmanuel Nnorom, chair of Transcorp Power PLC, says transmission is the biggest problem in the delivery of electricity to homes and businesses in the country.

Nnorom spoke with journalists on Monday on the sidelines of the company’s 11th annual general meeting in Abuja.

The chair said a lot of the power generated is wasted due to the inability to transmit the same.

“I will say the greatest problem is the transmission side of the process because even if you generate 300 to 500 megawatts and you are not able to transmit — because you cannot store power — you just have to lose that completely. So, it is the transmission,” he said.

“I also think that from the new directives issued by NERC, there are some processes to unbundle some aspects of that, and also, the new Electricity Act signed by President Bola Tinubu has also energised the states to go on their own regulatory path and generate power.

“I think a lot will happen in the next couple of years.”

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recently unbundled the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) by establishing the Nigerian Independent System Operator of Nigeria Limited (NISO).

TCN is expected to transfer all market and system operation functions to the new company.

The commission had previously issued transmission service provider (TSP) and system operations (SO) licences to TCN, in accordance with the Electric Power Sector Reform Act.

However, the Electricity Act 2023, which came into effect on June 9, provided clearer guidelines for the incorporation and licensing of the independent system operator (ISO), as well as the transfer of assets and liabilities of TCN’s portion of the ISO.

Therefore, the NERC ordered the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to incorporate, unfailingly on May 31, a private company limited by shares under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

The company, NERC said, is expected “to carry out the market and system operation functions stipulated in the Electricity Act and the terms and conditions of the system operation licence issued to TCN”.

Speaking about Transcorp Power’s performance in the last year, Nnorom said the company earned N142.1 billion in 2023, up from N90.3 billion in 2022.

“Last year’s strong performance is a testament to the resilience of our business strategies, underpinned by a culture of strong corporate governance,” he said.

“We know that with our strategy and the dedication of our team, we will continue to deliver exceptional value to all stakeholders.”

The chair said the company is working to boost its generation capacity by an additional 250 megawatts by December, in addition to its existing 650 megawatts capacity.

Thereafter, shareholders approved N23.46 billion as dividends for 2023 which translated to 3.13 kobo per share.