NDPHC Plans Addition to National Grid on Completion of 375MW Egbema Plant

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) yesterday disclosed that it plans to add about 375 megawatts of power supply to the national electricity grid with the expected completion of the Egbema power plant by the end of 2025.

Managing Director and Chief Executive of the NDPHC, Jennifer Adighije,  disclosed that this will considerably boost power supply nationwide.

The plant, which is already about 67 per cent complete, is expected to operate three units and was re-awarded in 2023 to the Chinese Machinery and Engineering Company (CMEC).

Speaking  during an inspection of the plant by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, Adighije stressed the company’s commitment to completing the project despite the financial challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector.

She reiterated the NDPHC’s plan to ensure that the plant is completed this year, explaining that the sector is hoping that the prioritisation of the power sector will see the payment of debts owed to generation companies.

According to her, offsetting the outstanding debts will help Generation Companies (Gencos) service gas payables and ensure that it reaches and delivers quality affordable and reliable electricity to the people.

“This is an ongoing project with three generating units and therefore the installed capacity of the plant is 375MW. This is a contract that was awarded to CMEC in 2023 and we are planning that the completion will be sometime at the end of this year and we are tracking the progress.

“As you can see we are very keen on the completion of this project to ensure that we are able to scale the generation capacity of our nation which is the mandate of the NDPHC.

“For those who don’t know, we have a current liquidity crisis in the power sector which stems from the fact that the government is owing Gencos over N4 trillion and we are hoping that Mr. President can prioritise interventions in the power sector.

“Interventions will ensure that we are able to complete all our ongoing projects timely and will ensure that we are able to service our gas payables and it will ensure that we are able to reach and deliver access to quality affordable and reliable electricity to the last mile,” Adighije stressed.

However, in his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Power, Hon. Victor Nwokolo, expressed concern about the slow pace of work at the power plant, adding that it was giving the committee “nightmares”.

But he noted that funding remains a big challenge, assuring the NDPHC that the committee would continue to ensure that adequate budgetary allocation is made available for the project.

He said: “Egbema power plant is the one giving us nightmares of all the power plants that started the same day. This is the one that has a snail speed. Thank God the President brought in a good management that is tracking the progress of the new contractors.

“ The contractors are new on site and there is also the issue of litigation that caused a major setback for the project.

“From the presentation they gave to us, over 67 per cent has been achieved and with that we are sure that things will progress better. We are confident that if proper funding is done the contractors will deliver.”