Lagos power capacity increased by 208MW via substation upgrades

The Nigerian Federal Government has commissioned upgraded transmission facilities at the Apapa and Ijora substations in Lagos, adding 208 megawatts (MW) of bulk electricity transmission capacity to the grid.

At the Ijora substation, two new 100MVA transformers increased capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, providing an additional 112MW. At the Apapa Road facility, a new Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) equipped with two 60MVA transformers added 96MW, tripling the substation’s capacity from 60MVA to 180MVA. The Apapa project was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), while the Ijora upgrade was funded by the World Bank and executed by Shanghai Electric Limited.

Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe announced that the government aims to generate and wheel 6,000MW of electricity by December 2026. He noted that while the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has an 8,500MW wheeling capacity, current generation is approximately 5,000MW. The upgrades are intended to support critical economic corridors, including port operations, manufacturing, and logistics in the Lagos area, by reducing transmission constraints and infrastructure decay.