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TCN Hands Over Temporary National Control Centre to NISO to Boost Grid Management

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Oru Leonard 

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has handed over the control room building extension for the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management System (SCADA/EMS) at the Gwagwalada 330kV Transmission Substation to the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), in a move aimed at strengthening electricity grid management across the country.

The facility will serve as the temporary National Control Centre (NCC) in Abuja pending the completion of the permanent control centre.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, described the event as a major milestone in efforts to modernise Nigeria’s electricity transmission infrastructure and improve national power coordination.

Represented by the General Manager, Project Coordination, Engr. Amini Tahir, Abdulaziz said the completion of the facility marked the beginning of a new phase in grid management rather than the end of a construction project.

He explained that the building was designed to temporarily house the newly installed SCADA/EMS and telecommunications systems, alongside operational personnel, before serving as NISO’s interim operational base.

According to him, the arrangement will enable NISO to oversee grid operations more efficiently and reliably until the permanent National Control Centre becomes operational.

Abdulaziz said NISO would assume full responsibility for operating and maintaining the facility, expressing confidence that the handover would enhance system reliability and improve electricity service delivery nationwide.

He also acknowledged the World Bank for its support in delivering the project and reaffirmed TCN’s commitment to collaboration, innovation and service excellence in the power sector.

Receiving the facility on behalf of NISO, the organisation’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Abdu Mohammed Bello, represented by the General Manager, System Planning, Engr. Kabir Adamu, described the handover as a critical step toward improving the operational capacity of Nigeria’s electricity grid.

He noted that the SCADA/EMS system is central to efficient grid operations and said the temporary control room provides the environment required to begin operationalising the project at its current stage of deployment.

Bello assured that NISO would effectively manage the facility to support reliable grid operations while sustaining collaboration with TCN to advance reforms in the nation’s power sector.
TCN’s Project Manager, Engr. Samuel Fakinlade, disclosed that once the permanent National Control Centre in Gwagwalada is completed, the equipment and personnel currently using the temporary facility will be relocated, after which the building will revert to TCN.

The interim control centre houses newly installed SCADA/EMS and telecommunications systems designed to support real-time grid monitoring and operations, pending the completion and commissioning of the permanent National Control Centre.

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