FG releases 98 containers of power equipment stranded 20 years at ports to strengthen grid
The Federal Government has secured the release of 98 containers of transmission equipment stuck at Nigerian ports for nearly two decades, in a move to expand the national grid and relieve overloaded substations. Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe announced the release followed President Bola Tinubu's directive to Customs, ending a bottleneck that left over 300 containers idle since procurement. Engineers will now verify, test, and refurbish the equipment before deploying it to stalled project sites and constrained transmission corridors nationwide.
The first batch targets completing stalled installations and easing pressure on substations. An inspection found most equipment still viable. Customs CG Adeniyi confirmed the release followed resolution of outstanding charges and administrative hurdles. The ministry is now working to clear the remaining 200-plus containers without further delay.
This ties into the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) with Siemens Energy, launched in 2019 under Buhari and expanded by Tinubu in August 2025 across three phases. The stranded equipment was originally bought for this transmission expansion. Tinubu has pledged political and financial support to complete the project.
Grid upgrades take time—deployment will be phased. But this clears a 20-year logjam that physically blocked infrastructure Nigerians paid for. If you live in an area with frequent transformer failures or load shedding, these deployments target those corridors first. Will you track TCN project updates in your state to see when upgraded capacity reaches your feeder?