The federal government of Nigeria is considering privatising the power transmission grid operator, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to attract investments in the power sector.
Nigeria has already launched a massive privatisation of its power sector and Manitoba Hydro International (Canada) was awarded the operation of TCN under a 3-year concession in 2012. However, the company was accused of lacking experience and the concession was taken over by the government.
In May 2016, the government announced that it was considering decentralising its power transmission network: the power grid would be split into segments and would be awarded through concessions to private operators, that would invest in, operate the grid and charge transmission fees.
The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing expects to raise the capacity of the transmission grid, operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), from 7,000 MW in 2014 (5,000 MW in 2011) to 20,000 MW by 2020. Private investment could help reach that target.