President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned a new 330/132/33KV Transmission Substation in Damaturu, Yobe, another milestone recorded to boost power supply.
Buhari was represented by the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mr Suleiman Zarma, on Wednesday.
He said the event marked another milestone in ‘our collective resolve’ to take the nation’s power sector to the next level of efficacy and relevance.
“It is also an indication that a government’s owned company such as Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is taking giant stride in expanding its capacity to make electricity more readily available in the country’’.
He added that after all installation had been done, the 150MVA, 330/132/33KV transformer, 75MVAR reactor were energised on September 13, 2018, while the 60MVA, 120/33KV transformer was put to service on October 3, 2018.
“Thereby enabling supply access to the three outgoing Feeders: Buni Yadi feeder 1, Damaturu feeder 2 and Babban Gida feeder 3.
“The major towns to benefit from the supply include Ganjarma, Gaidam, Dapchi, Yadi and Damaturu Township picking cumulative power of up to 13.8MW presently.
The president commended the management of TCN for the timely and cost effective completion of the project.
“Even though the project started in 2006 and was delayed, I am happy to commend the initiatives of the TCN new management who have adopted the regional empowerment and in-house project completion strategy that make this project realisable.
“I therefore congratulate the management and engineers of TCN for completing and energising this substation at a minimal cost”, he added.
The Yobe governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam represented by his deputy Abubakar Aliyu, commended the Federal Government for its efforts towards improving the power sector.
“Thanks to the efforts of Federal Government under the visionary leadership of President Buhari who improved power generation from less than 3000MW to over 7000MW.”
He urged the Minister and the Managing Director of TCN to sustain the tempo for the betterment of the country.