Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC), established by an Act of the parliament, is owned by the three tiers of government. It is created to lift Nigeria out of darkness through various interventions across the power supply value chain – generation, transmission and distribution – as the primary service provider, the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and later Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) – failed to provide regular supply before it was unbundled. NDPHC has presented scorecard on its website, EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.
POOR power supply hurts the economy of any nation. Nigeria was once, unfortunately, named to occupy the 70th position on the global electricity production chart by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook, despite Nigeria’s multiple electricity generation sources, such as hydro, thermal, solar and wind.
Therefore, what caused Nigeria’s huge power deficit? Primarily, the major problems have been attributed to lack of political will to do the right things and improper management of government- owned power firms.
According to records, the first 132KV line in Nigeria was built in 1962, to link Ijora power station in Lagos to Ibadan power station. Later, there were no commensurate deliberate activities on a major scale to boost supply infrastructure, regardlessof the fast-growing population.
Even when some efforts were made, they were largely lethargic and not holistic until the return of constitutional rule in 1999 and the setting up of the National Independent Power Project (NIPP) in 2005. Through the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) era, epileptic power supply was the norm and the expectation for stable power supply in the country was continually dashed.
Hydro-electric dams went abandoned and the transmission and distribution equipment and lines became obsolete. The coming of the NIPP was a most patriotic plan to confront Nigeria’s huge energy crisis and to end it. The National Council of State (NCS) and the National Assembly approved an initial funding of US$2.5 billion for the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) from the Excess Crude Oil Account.
The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) was thereafter incorporated as a limited liability company to serve as the legal vehicle to hold the NIPP assets. In 2008, the National Economic Council (NEC) voted US$5.375 billion from the excess crude account as Power Emergency Fund (PEF) to complete the NIPP. NEC also inaugurated the NIPP Steering Council in January 2009, chaired by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, then the country’s vice president with six governors and four ministers as members.
The NIPP Steering Council, which has transformed into the board of directors of NDPHC, is headed by the Vice President. In February 2009, the council approved a budget of US$2.213 billion from the PEF of US$5.375 billion to complete the first phase of the NIPP projects. It also approved US$423.639 million to PHCN as special intervention fund. In June 2010, the council approved US$123.110 million to augment the phase one budget and N1.750 billion to buy the NDPHC corporate headquarters in Abuja.
The NDPHC, a child of necessity and baby of the three arms of Nigeria’s government, built several world-standard gas turbine plants, distribution and transmission equipment and lines across the country. This intervention project was monumental. Under the NIPP, more power stations have been built for the first time since the country’s independence. These plants have added more megawatts (MW) to the national output.
However, the journey of the NIPP became longer than expected, but then it has become a pillar in Nigeria’s power stability.
Interventions in generation, transmission and
distribution
In the generation value chain, NDPHC has completed the following power plants: Olorunsogo 11 (750MW), Sapele 450MW, Geregu 11 (434MW), Omotosho 11 (450MW), Ihovbor 450MW, Alaoji 450MW, Calabar 563MW and Gbarain 225MW. The NDPHC has completed 2,194km of 330KV transmission lines and 809km of 132KV transmission lines; an increase of 46 per cent and 13 per cent over the pre-NIPP status of grid infrastructure.
It has further constructed a total of 2,600km of 11kv and 1,700km of 33kv distribution lines for improving access to electricity. There is heavy dependence on the NIPP plants in bringing electricity supply to Nigerians. In grid instability, NIPP plants provide about 265MW of spinning reserves to facilitate grid responsiveness during disturbances on the transmission network.
Spinning reserve is practised all over the world. The NDPHC assets are the backbone of the country’s power infrastructure. A transparent privatisation for credible international investors will push the NIPP to the finishing line.
Nigeria’s power generation capacity has risen. So also has been a huge exponential growth in population and the demand for electricity supply. Merging these two has not been easy. But Nigeria’s power distribution system has been enhanced with hundreds of injection sub-stations, 11KV lines and 33KV lines added. Work is also in progress in many more transmission and distribution projects. The massive construction of these power projects by the NDPHC has prevented the total collapse of electricity supply in Nigeria. Although a 100 percent supply is yet to be attained, supply is being stabilised while work on incremental power supply is ongoing. Achieving stable electricity supply from almost nothing is not a day’s work. It take times and huge efforts, especially where economic sabotage of gas pipelines persist and transmission lines are being vandalised, NDPHC Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo said. When most all of the NIPP projects are completed and become operational, power supply to Nigerians is expected to be better and drive the economy of Nigeria, he added.
“One recurring snag with power supply in Nigeria is in the distribution chain. Despite the targeted increase in generation if there is no efficient distribution to the end users in their homes and businesses, there will still be disappointment with all the efforts made. There has been huge improvement in gas supply to the built thermal power plants, adequate power is being generated and despite some challenges, the transmission network has improved. The most nagging point is power as distributed. Power Distribution companies should be able to take more than what the transmission gives out. This is to allow reduction of redundancies at the various levels and reduce losses while transmitting power from one location to another. The farther you travel with power, the more the quality and the efficiency of the power is reduced. Another problem with the distribution network has been poor town and urban planning which has made it difficult to regulate power distribution and downstream activities, thus overloading the grid.
“Some other challenges that the NIPP has had to grapple with include security and community issues; right-of-way challenges for distribution equipment and transmission lines; port clearing coordination hitches and contractor performance-related problems. Even though the three tiers of government own the NIPP, equipment imported for the power projects are often delayed or seized at the ports by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) because of non-payment of import tariffs thereby stalling the execution of some power projects. Sadly, some of the equipment at the ports were at one time auctioned by the port authorities after demurrage charges had accrued on them. It took the intervention of an alarmed Senate to recover some of the equipment sold off under questionable circumstance.
“To fast-track the attainment of stable electricity for Nigerians, the Federal Government should seriously consider waving duties on equipment for power projects. It needs to seriously educate contractors on their patriotic duty to deliver and on time. There is need for a special para-military unit to ruthlessly tackle the activities of vandals, and address the kidnap of the employees of the contractors. Host communities also need to be educated on the recurring problem of right-of-way for the routes for the 330kv and 132kv transmission lines of the NIPP. Once when NDPHC diverted the transmission line to the Ihovnbor station in Edo State at a considerable cost because of the presence of a shrine, a new shrine emerged overnight on the new route and the villagers went on demanding a huge amount to relocate it. These kind of things can be best handed with proper enlightenment of the responsibilities of civic duties.
‘’Also, operatives of para-military agencies, especially men of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), should be adequately motivated and mobilised to protect power installations from vandals across the country. An existing asset protection mechanism for the safety of power generation/distribution equipment like pipelines and plants must be established with technologically advanced means applied.
“All three-tier arms of Nigeria’s government, government parastatals, the ministry of defence, those of trade and of oil and gas, the privately-owned generating and distribution companies and indeed all Nigerians must join hands in true patriotism in confronting this multi-faceted problem and totally wipe out this embarrassing situation of inadequate electricity supply. Many Nigerians have made a living for decades from national dysfunction. Many have engaged and still do in pipeline bunkering. They have in the past fought against national pipelines protection. Those that make living importing electric generators will never want to see the country enjoying uninterrupted power supply. And because these folks have made a lot of money from their activities and are powerful, more like armed militants, they need be handled delicately to minimise collateral damage.”
Ugbo advised that other sources of power generation, coal, wind, solar, must also be aggressively pursued. The largest increase in the United States’ power generation comes from wind, increased by 168 billion KWH and solar by 18 billion at one particular time. Excluding nuclear power, Nigeria is rich in all these other resources. Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country and it is also the foundation of the West African economy. The coming of the NDPHC has helped Nigeria solve her energy problems because modern day economy is driven by electricity supply. The vision of incremental energy having not been faithfully pursued right from independence and oblivious of the exponential increase in population and socio-economy, it took the intervention of the NIPP to address fundamental issues. If the company is continually funded and given free rein and the needed political backing to implement its mission, then the issue of power outage in Nigeria will soon be a thing of the past, he added.
Ongoing projects
The NDPHC is handling some ongoing projects in transmission. According to the NDPHC chief, the firm is making efforts at mitigating the challenges in transmission segment of the power value chain by ensuring the completion of these projects that are of importance to the administration.
The projects include the Otta 132/33kV substation expansion project by Chris Ejik International; Otta-Papalantonew 132kV DC line construction project by Chris EjikInternational; Papalanto 132/33kV substation expansion project by Chris Ejik International; Papalanto-OldAbeokuta New 132kV DC line Construction Project by Chris EjikInternational; Old Abeokuta 132/33kV Substation Expansion Project by Chris Ejik International; Old Abeokuta-New Abeokuta 132kV DC Line Construction Project by Chris Ejik International; New Abeokuta 132/33kV Substation Construction Project by Chris EjikInternational; 330/132KV 1X150MVA Transformer Substation at Ihiala, including Turn-In-Turn-Out of the existing Alaoji–Onitsha 330kV Single Circuit line at Ihiala by Energo Nigeria.
Others are the 330kVIhiala – Nnewi DC Line by NCPE; 132/33kV Ihiala Substation by NEWS Engineering; Ihiala 132kV Line Bay Substation Extension works by PIVOT Engineering; Afam–IkotEkpene 330kV DC line construction by Cartlark International; IkotAbasi-Ikot Ekpene 330kV DC line construction by MessrsAnita Energy &Gracehill Energy; Ikot Abasi 3X150MVA, and 330/132/33kV Substation construction by Hoquado.
Projects expansion
The firm expanded some power projects including the Otta 132/33kV Substation Expansion Project by Chris Ejik International; while the Otta 2x30MVA & 1x45MVA, 132/33kV Substation is an existing Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) 132/33kV Substation, serviced by 2 Nos incoming 132kV circuit and 1 No outgoing132kV circuit which NDPHC seeks expanded.
Others are the installation of a new 1X60MVA, 132/33kV Transformer with associated 3 Nos 33kV feeders. 1 No 132KV Line Bay extension to enable connection of a proposed Double Circuit 132kV Transmission Line from Otta to Papalanto.I No 132KV Bay for the switching of the new Transformer, and all associated Protection, Control and Automation panels.
These Otta 132/33kV Substation Expansion works are all completed on Dec 2017 and energized on 17th May 2018. We are awaiting completion of other projects at Papalanto and Old Abeokuta for full commissioning of these interconnected projects, the firm said.
The firm also noted the financial challenges some of the contractors faced during the projects expansion and the interventions it made to see the projects got completed.
Efforts in Distribution
Interventions in the distribution segment include the rehabilitation of 39 km Ore to Okitipupa 33 kV line through Ode-Aye. The work is ongoing and at 90 per cent completion; Improvement of electricity supply to communities in Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State which includerehabilitation of 5km Igodan-Lisa to Igbokoda 33kV line;5km Igodan-Lisa to Igbokoda 33kV line;29km Igbokoda-MahinMahin-Ugbo-Nla 33kV line; and construction of 10 km of 11kV lines,construction of 20km of LT(0.415 kV) lines and installation of 10 nos distribution transformers.The company said work has been completed and NEMSA invited for testing, certification before commissioning.
Others include improvement of electricity supply to Okitipupa and Ondo State University of Science and Technology; and construction of dedicated 52kM 33kV Line from Funtua TS to Malumfashi 1 x 7.5 MVA, 33 /11 kV Injection Substation, among others.
Leave a Reply