OPTIMIZING POWER DELIVERY TO NORTHERN NIGERIA THROUGH ADVANCED HIGH-VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT (HVDC) SYSTEMS

Nigeria’s northern region, with its abundant renewable energy resources, such as hydro, solar and wind, holds significant potential for enhancing the country’s power supply. However, the existing High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) transmission infrastructure faces challenges such as high transmission losses, voltage instability, and capacity limitations, which impede the efficient delivery of power from the north to load centers in the region. The study addresses the prevailing issues and explore the application of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission technology for improving power flow, offer superior efficiency, reduced power losses, enhanced grid stability, and compatibility with renewable energy sources, making them ideal for long-distance power transmission. A detailed power flow analysis was conducted using MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation software to assess the grid's performance under existing and improved conditions. The base case results revealed poor voltage profiles experienced at eight buses violate the permissible statutory limit condition of 0.85-1.05% for 330kV bus voltage.: Damaturu: 67.55%, Gombe: 69.78%, Jalingo: 66.62%, Jos: 77.54%, Kumbotso: 74.83%, Maiduguri: 65.68%, Mando: 77.25%, and Yola: 67.13%. The total power loss in the existing northern 330kV grid is 168.2MW+j239.16Mvar. However, with the deployment of HVDC line on critically stressed lines. The results showed improved voltage profile across the network Damaturu: 96.84%, Gombe: 97.13%,Jalingo: 96.67%, Jos: 98.17%, Kumbotso: 97.73%, Maiduguri: 96.61%, Mando: 98.19%, and Yola: 96.73% all have voltage profiles that meet the operational regulatory requirement of 85–105% for buses and reduced real and reactive power losses 41.19MW+j63.56Mvar The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of HVDC in improving power flow in the northern region.