The Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Kano State Government commissioned four major transmission substations on Saturday to add 544 megawatts of wheeling capacity to the northern commercial hub. Adeola Labzy, media adviser to the power minister, announced the upgrade across installations at Walalambe, Kumbotso, Dakata, and Dan-Agundi. Heavy industry needs stable grid current.
Walalambe now operates a fresh 80-megawatt substation backed by twin 40-MVA transformers to direct high-voltage supply through six local feeders. The installation feeds the Tokarawa industrial corridor, Maiduguri Road, and long-neglected factory districts along the Eastern Bypass. Manufacturers welcome any steady flow.
The immediate economic dividend showed when the Lee Group reconnected its sprawling Kano industrial plants to the national grid after thirty years of self-generation. Heavy manufacturers abandoned public utilities decades ago to escape chronic blackouts and costly voltage surges. Grid power beats diesel costs.
Engineers also installed 100-MVA transformers at the 132-kilovolt level to restore the fire-damaged Dan-Agundi substation and modernise Dakata. Dan-Agundi lost vital transmission hardware to an inferno months ago, leaving ancient Kano city and the Emir’s Palace in darkness. Restored capacity brings fast relief.
At the higher end of the network, Kumbotso received an additional 100-MVA transformer to stabilise regional transmission lines operating at the 330-kilovolt threshold. That upgrade eases technical strain on overstretched transformers that regularly tripped under heavy evening loads. Stable transformers prevent cascading failures.
Federal officials frame the 544-megawatt expansion as evidence that President Bola Tinubu’s power sector investments can revive northern manufacturing centres. State officials must now ensure that local distribution firms actually deliver this newly wheelable bulk power to paying factory gates. Wires alone cannot guarantee output.