The Managing Director/CEO of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Ltd, Engineer Jennifer Adighije, said the Company has invested ₦500 billion in transmission infrastructure and networks across the country.
The NDPHC head stated this on Thursday when she led the Company’s management team on an inspection tour of the 330/132/33kV Lafia Transmission Substation, which was constructed by NDPHC and commissioned in 2022.
Speaking after the inspection, Engineer Adighije described the facility as world-class, stating that it has significantly improved the quality of power supply to Nasarawa State and surrounding states.
She said: “We are at the Lafia transmission substation, which is a project that was delivered by NDPHC and handed over to the Transmission Company of Nigeria. It’s a 330/132/33KV transmission substation, comprising two numbers 150 MVA transformers, two numbers 60 MVA transformers, and one by 75 MVA reactor.
“And as you can see, this is a project that was delivered to world-class standards. By every standard, this is one of the best that one can ever find internationally, in line with global best practices and standards. And as the mandates of the NDPHC were very clear in terms of our delivery of projects, because we are an entity essentially that provides backbone services for the sector, ensuring that we deliver projects that would impact the entire gas to electricity value chain.
“NDPHC has invested over ₦500 billion in transmission projects, transmission lines, transmission infrastructure, line-bay extensions, transformers, substations, you name it, across the entire power sector. And in spite of the liquidity crisis that we are facing, we are here to reaffirm our commitment to Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to scale power generation, transmission and distributed access to electricity.”
She, however, addressed the claim that the Company is unable to generate power optimally, stating that the Company has more generation capacity than the transmission network can accommodate.
“Let me put it to Nigerians, that for those that have been saying that the NDPHC were unable to generate optimally, the real issues are that we actually have a generation in excess of the transmission availability. And therefore, at NDPHC we are unrelenting, we are undeterred, and will continue to dedicate resources to ensure that we scale transmission to evacuate the stranded generation that we have.”
Adighije, who also led the team on a courtesy visit to the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, thanked the Governor for his support for the Company. She noted that the enactment of the Electricity Act has opened up the sector, enabling stakeholders to transact business bilaterally.
“We are now empowered to be able to stimulate market activities, even here in Nasarawa State, that would ensure that we deliver access to electricity to the last mile that would be of benefit to Nasarawa State, NDPHC and would be of benefit to the common good of Nigerians,” she told the Governor.
Governor Sule, in his response, acknowledged Adighije’s leadership and stated that her tenure at the Company has brought about changes. He added that, despite the presence of a transmission facility, power supply to the state has been affected by weaknesses in the distribution network.
The Governor said, “We are actually probably transmitting less than we can distribute. So you need all those partners. So the way you are visiting me, please visit all these Discos. It’s very important for them to know that it’s a total waste for you to end up generating this and they are not taken because you need off-takers when you generate. If the off-takers are not taking load, you cannot make your money.”
The NDPHC MD was accompanied on the visit by the Executive Director, Generation, Engr. Kassim Abdullahi; the Executive Director, Legal Services, Dr Steven Andzenge; and the Executive Director, Networks, Engr. Bello Babayo Bello.
Tribune Online reports that the Lafia Transmission Substation is a critical component of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
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