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  • NDPHC boss advocates sale of gas in naira

    NDPHC boss advocates sale of gas in naira

    The Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited Chiedu Ugbo has advocated for a re-think of the current practice pricing domestically produced natural gas in foreign currency. 

    “Gas should not be denominated in US dollar and then exposed to vagaries in the forex market,” he said.

    Ugbo, who spoke at the 2023 Nigeria Energy Summit in Lagos, said the cost of gas is prohibitive in Nigeria.

    A statement from the company in Abuja, quoted him as saying: “I understand that producers have their own arguments but unfortunately, this is Nigeria and if Nigeria has over 200tcf in proven gas reserve, why is it so difficult to get gas? “

    “May be there has to be investment in technology that can bring out this gas cheaper. A big question is why is gas denominated in US$? 

    “Before unification of exchange rates, we were buying gas at official rate of around N440/$ but now that is floated, are you going to pass the pass-through cost to consumers? 

    “Are you going to push over 100% increase to consumers? That will be difficult and it emphasises the availability question.”

    According to him, renewables may be the future of energy but as of now, Nigeria needs natural gas to power heavy industries. 

    In his view, some industries like those in the steel sector and some others cannot transit immediately to solar energy because they still need natural gas. 

    According to him:  “We still have a lot of opportunities especially in power generation to ensure the consumption of gas as we transit to renewables. There are also opportunities in homes for the use of natural gas in cooking and such. 

     “For gas to play an effective role as a transition fuel, certain challenges have to be dealt with. 

    “In the power sector, we have serious problems with availability of gas. For example, NDPHC has  over 2,000MW available generation capacity on the Western axis of the Niger all the way from Delta State to Ogun State and we need at least 600 million standard cubic feet of gas (scf) to power them. Incidentally, I just manage to get between 100 million and 120 million scf of gas. It is that bad. So, availability is a major challenge”.

    Read Also: DisCos to refund $1.2b to NDPHC for 374 projects

    Ugbo advised that regulators in the electricity and oil and gas sector should intervene to provide succour and ensure generation of enough electricity for Nigerians.

    “If we can find a means to reduce cost of gas at least for domestic consumption, that would help a lot. Gas should not be denominated in US dollar and then exposed to vagaries in the forex market.

    “As electricity producers, we need gas to fire our power plants. We should find a reasonable means to supply gas for domestic consumption.

    ” IOCs have gas but they are unwilling to reserve gas for the domestic market. I understand their position about illiquidity of the domestic market but there needs to be a good handshake between the gas regulator and electricity regulator for us to harmonise interests.“

  • How we tackle power challenges, by NDPHC

    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.

     

     

     

  • NDPHC boosts power supply by 16Mw

    The Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr Chinedu Ugbo, yesterday, said Ikeja Electric (IE) would be evacuating a total of 16 megawatts (Mw) of electricity from the newly inaugurated injection sub-stations in Alimosho Local Government area of Lagos State.

    He said the injection sub-stations are located in Amikanle and Abule Taylor area of Alimosho, and were built by NPDHC, in order to improve economic activities in the area.

    While Amikanle injection sub-station provides 12Mw of electricity, Abule Taylor injection sub-station boasts of 4.5Mw of electricity.

    Ugbo said the projects are part of the mandates given to the National Independent Power Projects (NIPPs) by the Federal Government to boost electricity supply in the country by 5,000Mw adding that NIPPs, now known as NHPDC is working hard to fulfil its mandates.

    He said the 1×15 MVA  33/11 KVA Amikanle injection sub-station takes supply from Ayobo through a dedicated  22.5 kilometres 33kva that was constructed by NIPP, with a view to serving the residents of the area, while the Abule Taylor injection sub-station has feeders that are enough to supply power to the residents of the area.

    He said many power sub-stations have been built by the NDPHC in order to improve supply to both the formal and informal sector of the economy, adding that efforts are on-going to provide more of such facilities in the country.

    Also, the Chief Technical Officer, IE, Mr Sunday Oyewale, said the capacity of the firm to improve supply of power has increased in recent times.

    ‘’With the additional two injection sub-stations and several others in areas under the jurisdiction of IE, the sky is the limit in meeting the energy needs of the people,’’ he said.

     

  • How NDPHC is improving, stabilising power supply

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) was set up to intervene in critical areas of the power supply value chain to enable government meet electricity requirements for domestic and industrial consumption. In the past 10 years, it has striven to achieve its mandate, writes EMEKA UGWUANYI.

    There is no doubting the huge power supply deficit. With a population of about 198 million, Nigeria needs at least 18,000 megawatts (mw) to enable a chunk of the population access electricity supply and about 50,000mw produced to achieve uninterrupted power supply. But power supply has hovered between 3000mw and 6000mw.

    The Federal Government has, over the years, invested huge amount of money in the power sector without  commensurate results. In the early 2000s the government began a holistic power sector reform, which saw the introduction of policies and initiatives to drive an accelerated sector reform. While some of them failed or fell short of expectation, some initiatives have proven successful. One of such initiatives is the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC).

    The NDPHC is a company incorporated and co-owned by three tiers of government – Federal, state and local governments. It was set up to fast-track power sector infrastructure development company in 2005 with a mandate to manage power projects under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP). The NIPP is an emergency intervention scheme meant to tackle the huge supply deficit and expand power sector infrastructure in the country.

    The company’s key mandate was to develop 10 power plants with a designed ISO capacity of 5,067mw, 102 transmission lines and sub-stations projects and over 291 distribution- injection sub-stations and gas infrastructure with over 22,000 completely Self Protected transformers, among other critical projects.

    So far, the company has completed about 4,015mw of this designed capacity, representing about 80 per cent of the mandate and has also made remarkable inputs in transmission, distribution and gas infrastructure.

    The NDPHC may not have completely solved the electricity needs of consumers, but data on what the firm has achieved, which was obtained by The Nation, showsed that it has recorded some milestones, which when well harnessed, will put the nation on a clear path to uninterrupted power supply. Although the company operates silently, it has continued to fulfill its role as a catalyst in bridging the power infrastructure deficiency that has continued to hinder development in productive sectors of the economy.

    In power generation, eight of the 10 power plants in the NIPP portfolio, along with associated gas transmission metering/receiving infrastructure projects to support commercial operation, have been commissioned and connected to the national grid, contributing over 22,000,000k watt/hour (Whr) of energy daily subject to availability of gas.

    The NDPHC has continued to operate these power plants in the interest of the Nigerian economy despite security challenges and accumulated debt of over N121billion owed it by the electricity market. The firm’s contribution represents about 30 per cent of power requirement in the grid.

    The NDPHC Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, said although the projects began when NIPP programme took off in 2006, it was disrupted by inadequate funding, particularly in 2008. He was optimistic that reliable progress will be made going by the progress of works at the various sites. Ugbo noted that conflicts resolution in the host communities, which also contributed to the delay with protracted court cases, rekindled hope and fired the NDPHC to speed up work on the projects.

     

    Generation segment

    In the generation segment of the value chain, the NPDHC has over 3,000mw capacity available for deployment to the national grid if it has capacity to wheel it. Inputs from the NDPHC facilities contribute significantly to the current improvement in power supply. The NDPHC has completed the 750mw Olorunsogo II power plant, the 450mw (Ogorode) Sapele power plant, the 434mw Geregu II power plant, the 450mw Omotosho II power plant, the 450mw Ihovbor power plant, the 450mwAlaoji power plant, the 563mw Calabar and 225mw Gbarain power plants.  Ongoing projects in the generation segment include 225mw Omoku, 338mw Egbema and 530mwAlaoji steam machines.

    Many of the NIPP power plants on the national grid also provide ancillary services like spinning reserve to support the system operations, a contribution critical for stabilising the national grid.

     

    Transmission segment

    In transmission, the NDPHC has also completed 2,194km of 330kV transmission lines and 809km of 132kV transmission lines. This represents an increase of 46 per cent and 13 per cent respectively over the pre-NIPP status of grid infrastructure. A total of 10 new 330/132kV substations and seven new 132/33kV substations have also been completed with several other existing substations significantly expanded, thereby, adding 5,590MVA and 3,313MVA capacity to the national grid.

    The NIPPs’ contributions to the transmission grid system have transformed the hitherto radial 330kV/132kV grid into a more robust grid system with significant provision of alternative power flow routes, which now serve as redundancies and which has resulted in a more reliable and stable Nigerian grid.

    These projects were achieved through the commissioning of the over 220km long 330kV Double Circuit (DC) lines providing alternative thermal power into Abuja and the FCT from Geregu, through a new Lokoja substation, a new Gwagwalada substation into the existing Transmission Company of Nigeria’s Katampe and Apo substations with several significant expansion works on existing substation developments along this route.

    Another remarkable transmission project is the 330kV Transmission backbone, which provides several 330kV DC transmission line spurs from Power plant zones in Calabar, Alaoji, Afam and Ikot Abasi into a switching hub at Ikot Ekpene. From this hub, long DC lines emanate to flow power from these southern based power generation centres to Jos and the far North East through Ugwuaji and Makurdi in Enugu and Benue States. With the commissioning of about 95 per cent of this grid backbone in November 2016, the Nigerian transmission grid bade goodbye to the radial grid era and entered a new unattainable level of grid security, reliability and stability that seemed elusive since the commencement of Nigerian grid operations in 1969.

    Completion of the majority of the balance of works on this grid backbone is progressing impressively and planned to be completed soon. The statistics of NIPP contribution to overall transmission system growth and reliability with improvements in transformation capacity, is progressively increasing each day as the balance of NIPP transmission projects are being delivered.

    The company invested in critical transmission and distribution infrastructure needed to evacuate the electricity generated into the national grid and distributed same to end-users. The projects the NDPHC has executed in this area included the expansion of 36 Transmission Company of Nigeria’s 330kV and 132kV substations across the country and the construction of 1,635Km of 330kv Double Circuit lines; 720km of 132kV Double Circuit lines; 10 new 330kV substations; seven new 132Kv substations;         6,150MVA of 330/132kv transformation capacity;  2,800MVA of 132/33kV transformation  capacity; and the provision of over 25,000 complete self-protection (CSP) transformers.

    In November last year, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), innuagurated the 12-circuit Ikot-Ekpene 330KVA Switching Station and the associated transmissions lines with about 285km completed by the NDPHC. These projects are now assisting in evacuating into the national grid, electricity, which had been stranded in the Eastern Delta.

     

    Distribution segment

    In the electricity distribution segment, the NDPHC has constructed and innuagurated over 350 injection substations with a combined capacity of 3,540mw across the country.  It has further constructed 2,600km of 11kV and 1,700km of 33kV distribution lines to improve access to electricity and quality of power supply to consumers. The distribution capacity has also been enhanced by the installation of 25,900 completely self-protected (CSP) transformers across the country, which has significantly reduced technical losses. Under the NIPP programme, the capacity of 33/0.415kV and 11/0.415kV has been increased by 26 per cent. The NIPP is designed to increase the number of 33/0.415kV & 11/0.415kV substations by 163 per cent and that target is nearing attainment.

    The NDPHC also installed 150 MVA transformer at Asaba 330/132 KV transmission sub-station. This transformer was initially installed and energised in February 2015. It failed in circuit in May 2016 and several investigations and tests were carried out to rectify the fault. The transformer was eventually re-energised and put on the grid in March, 2017 after it was technically certified by the technical team of the NDPHC, Engineering & Procurement consultants (EPC) contractors and the Project Consultants (PC).

    This development at the Asaba transmission substation will enhance power supply to Asaba and its environs, including the overloaded Transmission Company of Nigeria’s transformer at Onitsha in Anambra State, which services Asaba and its environs.

     

    Renewables energy

    segment

    The NDPHC is also making an inroad into renewable energy to give power to Nigerians not covered by the grid. In January 2017, the company launched the Solar Home Systems (SHS) project, anchored on the Presidential Initiative on Rural Solar Home Lighting Systems. It aimed at extending power to rural communities across the country without any form of access to electricity from the national grid. The project was tagged: “NDPHC beyond the Grid”. The NDPHC through its long term experience in developing power projects, has identified many rural communities in the six geo-political zones of the country where these solar projects will be implemented. Also, the NDPHC has deployed 200 units of the SHS (Solar Homes Systems) as pilot programme at Wuna. The units were deployed within a period of 12 months.

     

     

     

    In addition to the SHS unit, NDPHC’s solar project is also directed at auditing and reactivating 1,073 solar powered boreholes. Two of these boreholes are in the Wuna community and are the first to be repaired and has provided access to clean water for the community.

     

     

     

    Challenges

    The National Integrated Power Project is the largest single intervention in power infrastructure in Africa and the implementation has not been without challenges, which includes community restiveness, security situation in the Niger Delta region. Such challenges are not unexpected in the process of executing multi-billion dollar projects in emerging economies such as Nigeria. NDPHC’s current management, believesin dialogue and has engaged stakeholders at all levels in resolving some community issues to progress projects delivery and power to Nigerians.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    It engaged the Oronta Community in Abia State and the issue was settled out of court. The settlement paved way for contractors to resume work on the transmission line. Similarly, the management engaged the governors of the eastern region especially the Enugu State Governor with a view to solicit his support and that of his colleagues from the region in resolving community issues in the Eastern region where projects delivery is being threatened. In Calabar, the management resolved community issues affecting operation and evacuation of power from Calabarpower station. The resolution of this community crisis made possible the evacuation of power station’s 380mw through the 330kV line into the grid.

    In its quest to ensure steady gas supply to Calabar power station, NDPHC signed a Partial Risk Guarantee (PRG) with the World Bank to ensure regular gas supply to Calabar Power Generation Company.The PRG, which amounts to $112million, is a form of securitization for gas supply under the Gas Sale Agreement (GSA) between NDPHC/Calabar Generation Company Limited and Accugas. This is for a period of nine months during which about 500mw additional electricity will be wheeled to the grid for the benefit of Nigerians. There is need for the payment of the huge debt of N121 billion to enable the firm to do more.

    Way forward

    To ensure accountability in the system, due process as a cardinal tool in the operations of NDPHC was resuscitated and became effective as the current management saw the need to streamline work process at all levels with strict compliance with due process and approval limit. Meetings and interaction with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) were also explored for this purpose in line with the focus and policy thrust of the current administration.

    With completion of the projects in excess of 80 per cent, and the balance being vigorously pursued, the NDPHC has definitely delivered on its mandate of providing robust power infrastructure for the nation.

    Currently generation capacity is about 12,000mw, transmission at about 6000mw and distribution 5000mw. As a result of the huge supply gap Board and management look forward to doing a lot more under NIPP phase II through a more diversified generation-mix underpinned on the utilisation of alternative sources of power generation including renewables. NDPHCplans to close the infrastructure deficit arising from the continued growth of the economy and gaps associated with other critical stakeholders in the power value chain.

     

     

     

  • NDPHC flags off N5.53b substation

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) yesterday flagged-off a $18million MVA330/132/133, substation in Akruba-Lafia, Nasarawa State.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Chinedu Ugbo explained that the project was conceived by the company to improve power supply to the state.

    He said the project which AK-AY Electrik is executing  is expected to be completed for commissioning this year.

    It will be recalled that the company is implementing power projects under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), from the federal, states and local government that jointly own it.

    “There is virtually no power in the town from the grid. It is not that they are not connected but they are being served from Akwanga, 93kilometer , 32kv distribution line, which is not a high voltage carrier. It is just high voltage distribution, it is not high voltage transmission. So, at the end of the day, you find out that the voltage profile for Lafia is very low,” he said.

     

     

     

     

  • Al-Makura inaugurates power station to boost electricity supply

    Al-Makura inaugurates power station to boost electricity supply

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Monday in Lafia inaugurated two 7.5 MVA power injection substation to boost electricity supply to the state capital and environs.

    Al-Makura, while inaugurating the project in company of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said it was a dream come true for the people of Lafia and  environs.

    He said the project was constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company ( NDPHC ) under the National Integrated Power Project ( NIPP ) of the Federal Government.

    The governor said the project would go a long way in boosting the economy of the state through the expansion and sustainability of small scale businesses.

    Read also: Lawmaker seeks more support for Buhari, Al-Makura

    “As from today, the people within the state capital and environs would start benefiting from effective and efficient power supply because the burden of power on the Lafia substation would be reduced,’’ Al-Makura added.

    Al-Makura also commended the Federal Government for various power expansion projects as well as the ongoing construction of a sub-station at Akurba in Lafia with a view to stepping down the 330kva power line running through the state.

    Earlier, Mr Chiedu Ugbo,the  Managing Director of NDPHC, said the project, which commenced in 2007, was completed about three years ago.

    He said the project was, however, vandalised before it could be handed over and had to be rehabilitated by the company.

    Ugbo said the two 7.5 MVA power transformers at the station would inject 13 megawatts of electricity to the existing supply to Lafia and environs.

    According to him, each of the 7.5 MVA power transformers will feed 15 units of 500kv distribution transformers, adding that a 500kv transformer have the capacity of supplying power to about 1,000 households.

    NAN

  • Omotoso’s connection to communities ready by September – NDPHC

    Omotoso’s connection to communities ready by September – NDPHC

    The Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr. Chindu Ugbo, has said the connection of Omotoso power plant to local communities would be completed in September.

    He also said the Oke-Aro to Mowe line is fully energized and currently working with Ibadan Distribution Company, leading to successful connection of Magboro, Oke -Afa and MFM communities to the power line.

    The NDPHC chief said Okija line would be completed in November.

    He spoke at the 18th Monthly Power Sector and stakeholders’ meeting in Kumboso, Kano State.

    Speaking with journalists, he said vandalization of power installation has been a major problem stalling the firm’s project implementation.

    He noted NDPHC is doing its best to ensure efficient distribution of electricity to the Niger Delta.

    Ugbo said: “We have some projects we are doing at Ibara community to ensure that they have power distribution in the Niger- Delta.

    “We must make sure that their distribution facilities are working and we are working on the Benin distribution network. We are also working on the Calabar facility that was vandalized in Egbema. We are working on them and get the distribution company to serve them because we supply power to distribution company and they in turn supply their customers. They must have power and that is what we are trying to do. So we don’t want the infrastructure to be an excuse.  Therefore we do the infrastructure and hand over to them.”

  • NDPHC to inaugurate 20,000 solar units, 1,073 boreholes

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) is set to inaugurate 20,000 units of Solar Home System (SHS) and 1,073 solar powered boreholes across communities in the North.

    At the launch of SHS Project in Abuja, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, said: “With the Solar-Home-System initiative, NDPHC will be actively involved in the process of bringing power to rural communities, thereby stimulating social and economic activities in the rural communities located off the grid.”

    According to him, under the first phase of the programme, NDPHC will deploy about 20,000 units of the systems to the under-served rural communities with no access to grid electricity supply. It has deployed 200 in it pilot programme in Wuna.

    He said: “The beneficiaries of the 20,000 units are among the already identified communities of the nineteen (19) Northern States of the federation. The units will be deployed within a period of 12 months.

    “To vigorously drive this initiative, NDPHC engaged Azuri Technologies Group/Azuri Solar Power Nigeria Limited in July 2016. They are to ensure that the first phase of the initiative is achieved within 12 months.”

    Ugbo stated that the solar project was directed at auditing and re-activating 1,073 solar powered boreholes. “Already two of these boreholes are in Wuna Community are the first to be repaired and have provided access to clean water for the community. Villagers in Wuna can now make more efficient use of their time rather than spending hours operating manual pumps,” he said.

    Wuna community, with an estimated population of 800 people, predominantly hosts farmers without access to electricity grid. Before now, they spent money on torchlights, candles, kerosene lamps and generators.

    The NDPHC boss highlighted the achievements of the company, which include the expansion of 36 Transmission Company of Nigeria’s 330kV and 132kV substations across the country and the construction of 1,635Km of 330kv Double Circuit lines; 720km of 132kV Double Circuit lines; 10 new 330kV substations, seven new 132Kv substations,  6,150MVA of 330/132kv transformation capacity, 2,800MVA of 132/33kV transformation capacity; and the provision of over 25,000 complete self protection (CSP) transformers.

    He said in November last year, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, inaugurated the 12-circuit Ikot-Ekpene 330KVA Switching Station and the associated transmissions lines with about 285km completed by the new management.

    “These projects are now assisting in evacuating into the national grid, electricity hitherto stranded in the Eastern Delta,” he added.

    The NDPHC was set up as a fast- track power sector infrastructure development. The 12-circuit Ikot-Ekpene 330KVA Switching Station and associated transmissions lines  and other projects are assisting in evacuating into the national grid, electricity hitherto stranded in the Eastern Delta.

  • 10 years after, NDPHC opens 330kv station in Akwa Ibom

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) which  superintends the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) has inaugurated the 330kV switching station located in Essien Udim / Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Awka Ibom State.

    Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, said the projects started in 2006, but disrupted by poor funding and communal problems, which led to protracted court cases. He added that with the  support of the Federal Government, the projct saw the light of day.

    He listed the components of the facilities to include the 35KM 330kv Alaoji Substation to Ikot-Ekpene substation double circuit line to evacuate power from NIPP Alaoji Power Plant; the 70.3km 330kv double circuit line from Calabar to Ikot Ekpene to evacuate power from NIPP Calabar power plant.

    Others are the 162km 330kV double circuit line which evacuates all power from Ikot Ekpene switching station to the grid at Ugwuaji; and the 12-circuit Ikot Ekpene 330kv switching station that will serve as the central switching hub for receiving generated power from four generating locations at Alaoji, Afam, Calabar and Ikot-Abasi.

    At the event were Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor Mr. Moses Frank Ekpo, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Finance and Administration, NDPHC, Mallam Babayo Shehu, among others.

    According to a statement by NDPHC’s Communications and Public Relations General Manager, Mr. Yakubu Lawal, Ugbo said the switching station has boosted transmission capacity of the country, adding that it will wheel all the power to the grid via the 330kv double circuit lines to Ugwuaji, New Haven and to Makurdi and Jos in the northcentral zone.

    He said: ‘’The robust interventions of NDPHC management with strong support and assistance from both our Board Chairman, the Vice President and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing are reasons we have successfully tackled those issues to make the projects available now for inauguration and use by the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.’’

    When completed, Ikot-Ekpene 330kV switching station and these lines will become a 2,400Mw evacuation facility addition to the grid, he said, adding that the completion level at the switching station has a 1,200Mw capability in place. The NIPP generating stations of Calabar and Alaoji with a combined installed capacity of over 1,100Mw are connected through this corridor to the grid, he added.

    Ugbo said the switching station and the interconnecting lines have three benefits to the transmission networks in the country.These include increased reliability as other heavily loaded lines will be relieved and made more stable as more paths will be available for power in the face of contingencies; more exchanges between parties in the energy market will become possible due to availability of new transmission paths; and the lack of generation in the north will now be alleviated leading to a more equitable distribution of energy for the Nigerians.

    NDPHC under the management recently signed Partial Risk Guarantee Pact between the Federal Government, World Bank and Seven Energy in Abuja to facilitate operation at its Calabar Power Station.

    Fashola said all the power plants in the Eastern region have combined capacity of 1,846Mw comprising 561Mw Calabar, 450Mw in Alaoji, 185Mw Ibom power and 650Mw Afam VI, which were producing 100Mw each for the first three power plants mentioned and 300Mw for the Afam VI, all totalling 600Mw. With the inauguration of Ikot Ekpene Switching Station, there will be incremental output until full capacity is available to add an extra 1,246MW to the grid.

    The minister commended the management of NDPHC who midwifed the project and the focused dedication of Ugbo and his team for this great success.

  • N105b debt cripples NDPHC

    N105b debt cripples NDPHC

    The Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC),  Chiedu Ugbo yesterday lamented that the over N105 billion debt being owed the firm is affecting its operation.

    He said other challenges bedeviling the firm, include low pace of work, vandalism of projects and the failure of the distribution companies (DisCos) to provide Distribution Substation Operators (DSOs).

    “Like every other organisation, we in NDPHC are experiencing the pains of liquidity challenges in the sector with  market debt profile owed our company at over N105billion as at last invoice. Others challenges include slow pace of work by some contractors resulting in re-assigment of some projects, security situation  in some parts of the country, vandalism of completed projects and lines, failure of DisCos to provide DSOs to man completed substations as well as their failure to take some completed injection substation,” he said.

    He lamented the reluctance of DisCos to service customers from Completely Self Protected (CSP) transformers leading to failure to utilise already handed-over high voltage distribution system.

    Ugbo who spoke during the workshop of the Power Sector Communications Team in Abuja, announced that the sector would in the second week of November commence the evacuation of 2,000 megawatts (Mw) of electricity from the Ikot-Ekpene Switching Station, adding that this will allow evacuation  of over 2,000Mw of electricity  from Calabar, Alaoji, Afam power stations in the Eastern plank.

    In terms of transmission, he said the NDPHC has 120 projects that include, “the  construction of 1,635 Km of 330kV Double Circuit lines, 720Km of 132v Double Circuit lines, 10no.new 330kV substations, 7no,new 132kV substations, 6,150MVA of 330/132kV transformer capacity, 2,800 of 132/33kV transformers capvcity and expansion of 36 TCN 330kV and 132kV substations across the country.”

    He noted that in distribution projects, NDPHC has added 1,712 Km of 33kV lines, 4,540Km of 11kV lines, 24,996 completely self-protected (CSP) distribution transformers, 3,970MVA injection substations capacity and 1,212MVA CSP Transformers(distribution) capacity in the network.