Three decades of heavy reliance on costly alternative power came to a historic end for major enterprises in Kano, as the Federal Government commissioned four major transmission substations, injecting 544 MW of new wheeling capacity into the state’s power grid.
Spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Power and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), in partnership with the Kano State Government, the grid expansion marks a monumental turning point for industrial zones that have long faced severe power deficits.
The most striking milestone of the upgrade is the reconnection of the Lee Group, a cornerstone of Kano’s industrial landscape back to the national grid after more than 30 years of operating entirely off-grid.
For over three decades, industrial heavyweights like Lee Group had to shoulder the immense financial burden of self-generation just to keep production lines running.
With the commissioning of the brand-new 80 MW Walalambe substation (equipped with two 40 MVA transformers) and reinforcements at Kumbotso, Dakata, and Dan-Agundi, heavy manufacturing is finally returning to the reliable embrace of public infrastructure.
The power injection is strategically distributed across critical industrial and commercial corridors, including the Tokarawa Industrial Area, the Eastern Bypass, and Maiduguri Road, while restoring capacity to fire-damaged facilities serving Kano’s ancient commercial heartlands.
By eliminating structural grid bottlenecks, these infrastructure upgrades directly lower overhead costs for manufacturers, revive dormant production capacity, and catalyze new job creation, positioning Kano’s industrial sector to reclaim its historical status as a powerhouse of manufacturing and regional prosperity.
