The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) is preparing to transition to the second phase of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), with a focus on renewable energy investments to improve electricity supply, particularly in northern Nigeria.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDPHC, Engr. Jennifer Adighije, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during an oversight visit to the company’s headquarters by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, chaired by Hon. Victor Nwokolo.
Adighije said NIPP Phase 2 would diversify the country’s generation mix by harnessing the renewable energy potential in northern Nigeria, particularly solar and tidal resources.
She said the company was considering off-grid solutions, mini-hydropower projects and other solar power interventions as part of its strategy to address power supply gaps across the country.
“Where we are currently is NIPP Phase 1, which is power generation from fossil fuels, from gas. The NIPP Phase 2, in line with the Energy Transition Plan, is where we are diversifying our generation mix and preparing to transition to renewable energy,” she said.
Adighije explained that NDPHC currently contributes about 4,000 megawatts to Nigeria’s installed generation capacity of approximately 12,000MW, representing about 30 per cent.
She said the company had built 10 power plants under NIPP Phase 1, seven of which are commercially operational, while two are under construction and one is undergoing upgrades.
The NDPHC boss also pointed at the company’s interventions in transmission and distribution, saying it had completed 120 transmission projects, comprising 60 330kV substations, 31 132kV substations and 37 expansion projects, with installed transformer capacity exceeding 10,000MVA.
She said the company had also undertaken hundreds of distribution projects, including the installation of distribution transformers and 33kV and 11kV lines across the country.
On achievements under her administration, Adighije said NDPHC had recovered 110 abandoned containers and 216 packages within its first 100 days, saving the company more than N30 billion.
She also listed debt recovery, digitalisation, improved procurement practices, asset restoration, completion of distribution projects and the recovery of several generation units among the administration’s key achievements.
She said the company had recovered about $12 million from cross-border bilateral customers in Togo and other debtors from an outstanding debt of more than $50 million.
According to her, NDPHC had also recovered several turbines across its power plants, contributing about 470MW to the national grid.
However, Adighije identified transmission constraints, low tariffs, inadequate market settlements, gas supply challenges, unpaid debts and vandalism as major challenges affecting the company’s operations.
She said NDPHC had more than 1,500MW of mechanically available generation capacity but was allocated an hourly dispatch of about 500MW, resulting in significant suppressed and stranded capacity.
She estimated that the situation had cost the company more than N300 billion and called for regulatory intervention to review the dispatch merit order.
Adighije also appealed to the committee to intervene in outstanding debts owed NDPHC by electricity market participants, including the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), which she said had accumulated liabilities of more than N400 billion.
She said the company was also seeking the settlement of obligations arising from its assets recognised in the regulated asset base of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Responding to the presentation, the Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Hon. Victor Nwokolo, commended NDPHC management for its efforts to improve electricity generation, describing the company’s work as critical to the entire power value chain.
“We have also been to their power stations. And, honestly, they are taking some reasonable, very reasonable actions towards making Nigeria’s access [to] electricity,” Nwokolo said.
He noted that the success of the power sector depended on the effective performance of generation, transmission and distribution, stressing that a failure in one segment would affect the entire value chain.
“If they don’t generate, there’s nothing to transmit. If they don’t transmit, there’s nothing for me to distribute. So I must commend them,” he said.
Nwokolo also commended Adighije for what he described as her proactive approach to managing the company and addressing challenges confronting its power plants.
He cited the Alaoji power plant as an example, stressing that the facility could have faced a worse fate without proactive intervention by the NDPHC management.
The committee chairman said the legislature would support the company where necessary, noting that NDPHC could not resolve all the challenges confronting the power sector on its own.
Nwokolo assured NDPHC that the committee would examine the concerns raised by the company and work with relevant stakeholders to address them.
He said the oversight visit was intended to understand the challenges confronting NDPHC and support the company in finding solutions, rather than create an adversarial relationship between lawmakers and the agency.
The committee chairman further commended NDPHC for welcoming legislative oversight, noting that such visits provided an opportunity for public agencies to demonstrate their achievements, explain their challenges and receive necessary support from the legislature.
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