The Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, commissioned the transformers on Monday, August 17, 2026, describing the project as a major intervention aimed at strengthening electricity supply to Lagos’ industrial, commercial and residential communities.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Tegbe said the upgrade would increase the substation’s transmission capacity from approximately 72MW to 184MW, providing an additional 112MW of bulk transmission capacity.
According to him, the development is expected to significantly improve electricity supply to Ijora, Costain, Oyingbo, Customs and adjoining communities, while supporting businesses and millions of consumers within the franchise area of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).
Tegbe said the Ijora transmission substation occupies a strategically important position within one of Lagos’ major economic corridors, with the area hosting industries, ports, commercial centres and densely populated communities.
He explained that the substation had originally been equipped with three 30MVA transformers, giving it a combined installed capacity of 90MVA, equivalent to about 72MW.
However, he said increasing population, commercial activities and industrial demand had outpaced the capacity of the existing infrastructure, resulting in suppressed load and constrained electricity supply.
“With the replacement of two of the existing 30MVA transformers with two modern 100MVA, 132/33kV transformers, the total installed capacity of the Ijora substation has risen from 90MVA to 230MVA,” the minister said.0
He added that the intervention would help unlock additional electricity supply for economic activities and improve the ability of the transmission network to serve growing demand in Lagos.
Tegbe said the project aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambition of transforming Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy, stressing that reliable electricity remained central to achieving the target.
According to him, the Federal Government’s objective goes beyond increasing generation capacity to developing a power system capable of reliably delivering electricity to areas where it is required, when it is required, and at a quality and cost that s0upports economic activities.
The minister noted that transmission infrastructure had historically constituted one of the major constraints in Nigeria’s electricity value chain.
He said the country had experienced situations where available generation could not be fully evacuated because of transmission limitations, while rising electricity demand was not matched by corresponding investments in transmission infrastructure.
He also acknowledged the challenges posed by ageing infrastructure, inadequate maintenance and delayed investments in some parts of the national transmission network.
Tegbe stressed that addressing the challenges required coordinated interventions across the entire electricity value chain, from generation and transmission to distribution.
The minister commended the Lagos State Government, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for creating an enabling environment for infrastructure investments in the state.
He also praised the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for its technical leadership and efforts to strengthen the national transmission network.
Tegbe recognised the role of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) in ensuring the efficient and coordinated operation of the electricity system, saying such coordination was critical to translating infrastructure investments into improved service delivery.
He further appreciated the World Bank for supporting the intervention and acknowledged the contribution of Shanghai Electric Group Company Limited and other technical and development partners involved in the project.
The minister also commended the engineers, technicians, consultants, project managers, supervisors, contractors, artisans and other professionals whose efforts contributed to the completion of the project.
He formally commissioned the two 100MVA transformers and associated upgraded facilities on behalf of President Tinubu and the Federal Government.
Tegbe dedicated the project to the people of Lagos, businesses and industries operating in the area, and Nigerians whose prosperity, he said, remained at the centre of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The commissioning was attended by senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, TCN, NISO, representatives of Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies, the Lagos State Government, the World Bank, Shanghai Electric Group and other stakeholders in the electricity sector.