Towards Solving the Problem of Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power in Nigeria via Superconductor Power Cables

Abstract

Data on transmission and distribution losses in some African countries on conventional cables show that Nigeria experiences the highest transmission and distribution losses (=6.81 x 10¹⁵ kWh) among African countries and, certainly, among the highest in the world with per capita consumption of 0.03 kWh/person. The total installation cost comparison between conventional and superconducting cables (SC) has been done and the comparison of the losses in SC cables and the conventional ones has also been analyzed. Some of the parametric properties of superconducting materials and benefits of high temperature superconducting (HTS) cables are discussed. Transmission lines in Nigeria have been found to experience high voltages and very low voltages under light loading and high loading, respectively. It has also been found that with the use of HTS cables, these losses, which are mainly the I2R losses, are negligibly small and almost zero. It is also found that HTS cables would be panacea for these high transmission and distribution losses in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Transmission, distribution and superconducting cables.