There may finally be light at the end of the tunnel for Nigerians frustrated with poor electricity supply.
The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), which owns some of the biggest power plants in the country, says it has over 2,000 megawatts of electricity just sitting idle, power that could be lighting up homes and powering businesses if dispatched properly.
But here’s the issue: most of that power isn’t being used because the company doesn’t have formal power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the government’s electricity trader, NBET. As a result, many of its plants are being sidelined when it comes to sharing power to the national grid.
NDPHC’s Managing Director, Jennifer Adighije, met with top officials of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) in Abuja, asking for a fairer deal in how power is distributed. She noted that despite having the largest generation capacity in Nigeria—over 5,000MW—the company is often left out, with only 500 to 800MW regularly dispatched.
Adighije revealed that the company is taking matters into its own hands by working on direct deals with private customers and power traders. If all goes well, 200MW of power could be put to use by the end of the year.
Even more encouraging, NDPHC has doubled the availability of its plants in just nine months and is working hard to bring even more capacity online. One of its major plants, Alaoji—which has been out of action for two years—is expected to return to the grid in August.
“We’ve made big investments in Nigeria’s power sector. We’ve built over 50 substations and added thousands of MVA in transformer capacity. So we believe it’s only fair that our plants get a chance to contribute more to the grid,” Adighije said.
In response, NISO boss Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed promised that NDPHC would get fairer treatment going forward. He acknowledged the imbalance and said new measures will be introduced to ensure that more of NDPHC’s power is actually delivered to Nigerians.
If all these promises are kept, it could mean more stable electricity for homes, fewer blackouts, and a much-needed boost to Nigeria’s power supply, something every Nigerian can look forward to.
