Over 240 dams are spread across the country, each with a capacity for 40 megawatts (MW). Against this backdrop, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited is mulling the setting up of small hydro plants to boost electricity generation. This initiative may rev the dams back to life, MUYIWA LUCAS reports.
GIVEN the number of dams in the country, it should have been a foregone conclusion that electricity generation would have exceeded the current capacity. This is because hydro power generated through this medium would have also gone into the national grid. But this has remained a tall dream.
The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, an engineer, hosting the management of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited, led by its Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, lamented the state of the dams.
According to him, each of the 240 dams has the capacity to generate 40mw. Regrettably, he said most of the projects have been halted because of poor planning. He explained that most irrigation projects require a lot of water which also need a lot of electricity.
Adamu, therefore, urged the NDPHC to support the projects by installing solar panels in the irrigation areas.
This call may have berthed a multi-million dollar partnership between the ministry and the NDPHC. Ugbo expressed his firm’s readiness to capitalise on the dams and build more.
When this is done, it would be a big boost to electricity generation, which, many say, may not have been a source of concern in the industry, but rather that transmission and distribution have been the bane.
Ugbo disclosed that although the firm generates about 4,099mw, not all are taken into the grid due to systemic problems. Absolving the firm of any blame, he explained that NDPHC may have 500-700MW on the grid, but that this was not a function of bad machines or equipment, but rather due to the transmission and distribution challenges in the sector.
He noted that though the company had 10 power generation plants with eight linked to the national grid with about 4,099 megawatts, most are located in the South and are unable to generate optimally due to poor transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“In those areas too, NDPHC has done significant work. We pride ourselves as having invested about 50 percent of the transmission assets in the country. We have invested heavily in transmission and distribution assets all over the country, in every state.
“We have also invested in solar home systems. We started from not just underserved but un-served communities. We did 20,000 in the first phase under the “Beyond the grid” programme. We started the second phase in Kazuare Emirate in Bauchi State with 100,000 connections.
“But having developed our thermal plants reasonably, we thought it is time to move to the next phase of our project development and that phase is where after optimising gas resources, we have to optimise other resources we have for power generation. In renewable energy, we are working on solar, not just stand alone, but also mini-grid and on utility scale, that is on one side. We also thought that part of the programme is the hydroelectric and the best way to start it is the dams,” he added.
This, Ugbo explained, is why the firm is interested in the dams, especially those with hydroelectric capabilities already installed or which can be recovered.
Leave a Reply