‘Transmission Frustrates Me’ — Transcorp CEO Says N500m Lost in One Day on Grid Fault

A fault on Nigeria’s electricity grid on Tuesday knocked 10 Transcorp turbines offline and prevented more than 200 megawatts of power from reaching consumers, according to Owen Omogiafo, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation Plc.

Omogiafo said the electricity lost to the incident was valued at more than N500 million, highlighting the financial and operational toll of persistent weaknesses in the country’s transmission network.

Speaking at the Industrialisation and Competitiveness Forum of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group on Wednesday, she identified transmission as a major source of frustration for investors operating across Nigeria’s power value chain.

“As an investor in generation and distribution, transmission frustrates me on a day-to-day basis,” Omogiafo said.

“The grid had an issue yesterday, and 10 of my turbines were knocked off. I lost over 200 megawatts of power that I could have made available to you. That 200 megawatts of power is worth over ₦500 million.”

Transcorp, one of Nigeria’s leading conglomerates, has core investments in power, hospitality and energy. Its position in both electricity generation and distribution gives the company exposure to multiple parts of the sector.

Omogiafo argued that power generators and distribution companies have commercial incentives to deliver electricity, but transmission constraints continue to prevent available capacity from reaching homes and businesses.

“We literally have no incentive not to generate power. The distribution companies have no incentive not to give us power,” she said.

She warned that unless Nigeria urgently strengthens its electricity infrastructure and resolves persistent grid problems, the country’s ambitions to expand industry and compete more effectively on the global stage will remain difficult to achieve.

“Nigeria cannot be competitive if we don’t fix power,” Omogiafo said.