By Engr. Adéṣẹ́gun Ọṣìbánjọ
This report examines the evolving landscape of Nigeria’s electricity supply with a focus on the uneven distribution of improvements in bulk power capacity and transmission infrastructure among the country’s distribution companies. By comparing the network characteristics of Eko, Ikeja, and Ibadan distribution systems, we highlight the challenges faced by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
Despite operating over Nigeria’s largest geographic franchise—including many rapidly emerging and densely populated communities—the allocated power from TCN is far below the required level.
Moreover, when consumers draw power beyond this low allocation, IBEDC is compelled to implement load shedding. This report recommends measures for a more balanced and resilient distribution network.
Introduction
Nigeria’s power sector has experienced intermittent improvements in bulk power generation and transmission during the past decade. However, these enhancements have not been uniformly implemented across all Distribution Companies (DisCos).
Some networks have benefited from significant infrastructural upgrades while others lag behind, leading to inefficiencies, load imbalances, and customer dissatisfaction.
This report specifically focuses on IBEDC, whose extensive catchment area—covering parts of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, and Kwara states, along with partial coverage in Ekiti, Kogi, and Niger—presents both technical and operational challenges. IBEDC’s franchise includes vast, rapidly emerging communities, notably along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where the population can outnumber that of some entire states in Nigeria. Despite this, these areas are severely under-equipped in terms of injection substations compared to networks like that of Ikeja.
Additionally, the power allocation received from TCN is far below what is needed, and yet IBEDC is still instructed to implement load shedding when consumers draw beyond these limits, compounding the network challenges.
Overview of Electricity Distribution Networks
Technical Concepts
Electricity distribution in Nigeria typically follows this cascade:
Bulk Power Supply: – Sourced from high-voltage transmission stations (e.g., 330/132 kV).
Transmission Stations: – Step-down the voltage (e.g., from 330/132 kV to 132/33 kV) via transmission substations operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Injection Substations: – Distribute lower voltage power (e.g., 33/11 kV) to end users.
Feeder Networks & Transformers: – Final stage distribution to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
Understanding the interplay between these components is essential to analyze how improvements in generation and transmission might not yield equivalent gains at the distribution level.
Transmission and Injection Infrastructure
Voltage Levels: Transformation from higher voltage (330/132 kV) to medium voltage (132/33 kV) and finally to lower voltage (33/11 kV) is crucial for efficient power delivery.
Transformation Capacity: Measured in MVA (Mega Volt-Amperes), indicating the maximum load-handling capability of a network’s substations.
Comparative Network Analysis
Below is a tabular comparison of the key technical attributes of the Eko, Ikeja, and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Networks
Note: TCN stands for the Transmission Company of Nigeria, which manages the transmission stations supplying bulk power to these networks.
IBEDC Case Study: Infrastructure and Impact Analysis
Infrastructure Overview
The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) operates a network with the following attributes:
Bulk Supply: Receives power from 22 transmission stations managed by TCN.
Transformation Capacity: 2,088 MVA across its network.
Feeder & Injection Substations: 118 dedicated 33 kV feeders channel power to 119 injection substations, which serve a vast and diverse geographical area.
Geographic and Demographic Reach: IBEDC’s franchise covers major states (Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara) and extends partially into Ekiti, Kogi, and Niger, making it Nigeria’s largest distribution franchise. Importantly, the area includes many newly emerging and rapidly growing communities, especially along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
These communities despite having populations that sometimes outnumber entire Nigerian state, are grossly under-equipped; many lack even a single injection substation. In contrast, distribution companies such as Ikeja benefit from more concentrated infrastructure coverage.
Infrastructure Development: It has been a legacy of neglect and exploitation since IBEDC acquired the severely inadequate and obsolete distribution infrastructure.
This has been marked by a complete absence of new investment across its extensive service area. The company’s strategy revolves around extracting revenue from electricity consumers, while leaving the communities to build their infrastructure, and they are made to surrender them to IBEDC under the guise of donations, or the Substations will not be energised and commissioned.
This predatory behaviour demonstrates a clear disregard for service delivery and a focus solely on profit at the expense of Nigerian consumers.
Skewed Improvements and Their Effects
IBEDC faces several challenges that stem from uneven—or skewed—upstream improvements:
Infrastructure Disparity: Investments in bulk generation and high-voltage transmission are often concentrated in urban centres. This leaves IBEDC’s extended rural and semi-urban feeders, especially those in burgeoning communities along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, with inadequate or outdated infrastructure.
The resulting disparity is stark when compared to networks like Ikeja, which have a more uniform distribution of injection substations.
Operational Strain in Exploding Communities: The significant growth in population along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor demands robust infrastructure. However, the absence of Injection substations in these areas leads to severe load concentration on the only two existing units from the distant Oke-Aro and Kobape Injection substations.
This imbalance contributes to frequent voltage fluctuations and service interruptions.
Power Allocation and Load Shedding Issues: The power allocation from TCN to IBEDC is far below the quantity needed to satisfactorily meet demand. Despite this shortfall, TCN still calls on IBEDC to implement load shedding when consumers draw beyond the limited allocation.
The responsibility for these deficits is often misattributed to IBEDC’s performance, even though the root causes lie upstream in both the allocation process and the uneven infrastructural investments.
Maintenance and Losses: Aging and improperly upgraded feeders contribute to increased technical losses. This reduction in available capacity further exacerbates load management issues, making it difficult to balance distribution across an expansive and diverse network.
Visualizing the Supply Chain
Below is an ASCII flowchart detailing the power supply chain in IBEDC’s network:
This flowchart emphasizes the critical areas where mismatches in investment—especially at the feeder and injection substation levels—result in reliability challenges and operational inefficiencies.
Implications of Skewed Improvements
Operational Challenges
Uneven Load Distribution: Underinvestment in feeder modernization results in localized overloading where newly emerging high-demand communities rely on outdated infrastructure.
Increased Losses: Aging feeders in underserved areas contribute to higher technical losses, reducing the overall capacity available for end users.
Maintenance Complexities: A sprawling network with heterogeneous technology levels demands more sophisticated and resource-intensive maintenance protocols.
Financial and Customer Impacts
Revenue Leakage and Financial Pressure: Technical losses and inefficient power allocation lead to wastage and increased operational costs, adversely affecting tariffs and financial sustainability.
Customer Dissatisfaction: Inconsistent supply quality—particularly in rapidly growing communities along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway—leads to public discontent. Authorities often unfairly blame IBEDC for poor performance, without fully accounting for the underlying infrastructural and allocation challenges.
Load Shedding Under Constrained Allocation: The low power allocation from TCN forces IBEDC to engage in frequent load shedding. This practice is triggered when the limited supply is exceeded, further straining an already overstretched network and exacerbating public dissatisfaction.
Recommendations
To address the challenges arising from skewed improvements and to strengthen IBEDC’s network, it is recommended that:
Holistic Modernization Strategy:
Develop an integrated upgrade plan to invest simultaneously in high-voltage transmission, feeder networks, and injection substations.
Targeted Regional Investments:
Prioritize emerging and high-growth areas—particularly along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor—for immediate infrastructure development, ensuring that growing populations are adequately served.
Re-evaluation of Power Allocation:
Work with TCN to secure an allocation that better reflects the actual demand of IBEDC’s expansive and densely populated franchise.
Adoption of Smart Grid Technologies:
Integrate real-time monitoring systems and automated fault detection to dynamically manage load distribution and reduce technical losses.
Addressing Payment Collection Loss and Energy Theft
The Government plans to roll out electricity meters nationwide to address Payment collection loss and energy theft. MaakBeat Transnational Ltd has offered to assist the Tinubu Administration in implementing a methodological mass deployment of Smart Prepaid meters, utilizing their full technological capabilities, but to no avail.
Capacity Building and Training:
Expand and update training for technical teams to manage diverse and evolving infrastructure needs effectively.
Enhanced Stakeholder Collaboration:
Promote closer coordination among power generation, transmission, and distribution entities to streamline infrastructure improvements and adjust power allocation policies.
Conclusion
While Nigeria has witnessed measurable advancements in bulk power generation and high-voltage transmission, managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), these gains have not been complemented by equivalent investments at the distribution level, particularly in IBEDC’s expansive franchise area.
The case study of IBEDC underscores the challenges posed by an extensive network that encompasses rapidly growing communities, many of which lack fundamental infrastructure like Injection Substations. This, coupled with insufficient power allocation from TCN and the consequent need for load shedding, highlights the urgent requirement for comprehensive and coordinated modernization efforts within the distribution sector.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) must intervene to protect postpaid consumers from the inadequacies of IBEDC and other distribution companies. It is essential to mandate transparency in the estimated billing process by requiring DisCos to:
• Publish monthly electricity meter readings at each substation.
• Provide detailed information on the number of households served by each substation, distinguishing between prepaid and estimated billing customers.
• Clearly disclose the methodology used in deriving estimated bills for each household.
In the absence of such transparency, consumers on estimated billing should be exempted from payment to hold the DisCos accountable.
The operational practices of the IBEDC franchise further expose a concerning pattern of predatory behavior that prioritises profit over service delivery. This neglect of critical infrastructure investment, coupled with a failure to fulfill their obligations to Nigerian consumers, reflects systemic shortcomings. Addressing these disparities requires a coordinated approach aimed at reducing technical losses, improving service reliability, and bolstering the financial sustainability of Nigeria’s power distribution sector.
Should a comprehensive audit confirm these systemic failures, the need to identify a new investor with the capacity and commitment to modernize the network becomes imperative. Such an investor must prioritize consumer interests, ensure sustainable operations, and deliver reliable electricity distribution. Through these reforms, Nigeria can bridge the gap between improvements in power generation and efficiency in distribution, ultimately fostering a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable power sector.
Further Discussion
Given the dynamic nature of Nigeria’s power sector, future research could explore:
• How renewable energy integration might help bridge the capacity gap.
• Comparative studies of customer satisfaction across different distribution companies.
• Detailed cost-benefit analyses of smart grid investments tailored to regions with emerging high population growth.
This report is both an analytical overview and a call to action for policymakers, engineers, and stakeholders seeking to build a modern, equitable, and efficient power distribution network across Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria!!!
Adéṣẹ́gun Olútáyọ̀ Adéolú Ọṣìbánjọ BENG, MBA, MNSE, MNIEE, MCIPSMN
Convener, Africa Woke Citizens Platform (AWCP)
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