Several decades after the 1976 commissioning of Baga transmission substation in Borno state, the Federal Executive Council has approved a $2.2million dollar contract for a 60MVA transformer to complement the Baga substation which is already overloaded.

This dollar component is in addition N206 million also meant for the project. The project will be completed in twelve months. It will after completion gives corridor for future expansion.

Addressing state House correspondents at the Presidential villa, Minister of State for Power, Alhaji Mohammed Wakil explained that the 60 MVA when completed will expand the transmission capacity to adequately meet the power needs of the state in addition to providing room for future expansion to meet future electricity needs of the state.

Wakil who was full of praise for President Goodluck Jonathan noted that the new contract for the 60 MVA was in addition to the 330kv transmission project which he said is nearing completion and which will also enhance the quality and quantity of power supply to the state.

“We are addressing the fundamental power needs of Borno state in term of transmission capacity. Since 1976, no administration has acted as the Jonathan administration is doing to structurally address the insufficiency of power infrastructure in the state”, Wakil noted.

On the power outage in Borno, the minister assured that the unfortunate event will soon be a thing of the past as the Transmission Company of Nigeria and other relevant authorities are set to restore and reconnect the state to national grid.

He disclosed that the various committees he set up have mobilized affected agencies to act on the outage.