BPE Inaugurates Committee on Concessionkng of Small Hydro Plants

By Ndubuisi Francis

The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, has inaugurated a 13-member committee for the concessioning of 12 small hydro plants in the country.

Inaugurating the Project Delivery Team (PDT) in Abuja, Okoh called for alternative energy sources and resources to augument the limited power generation and supply situation in the country which covers only 40 per cent of the over 200 million population.

Okoh noted that Nigeria has abundant natural energy resources to address the power challenges bedevilling the country.

According to him, these include sun, wind, hydro and biomass (waste), adding that it was imperative to exploit and harness the full potential of the small hydros for the purpose of electricity production.

The BPE Director General said 12 small hydro plants were slated for concession, including eight greenfields and four brownfields located in Adamawa, Benue, Kogi, Ogun and Taraba States, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a generation capacity of between 1.2 megawatts and 1,500 megawatts.

The inauguration of the committee, he said, was in line with the mandate of the BPE, adding that it was a fallout of the recent federal government circular, which provided clarity on the institutional framework for the administration of concession in the country.

He stated that the drive to unlock the values of the 12 hydropower plants provided another opportunity for the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the BPE to work together, in addition to the collaborative efforts at the partial commercialisation and concessioning of four pilot River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) in the country.

He charged the 13-member committee drawn from relevant federal ministries, the BPE and other stakeholders to, among others, ensure transparent transaction, cooperate with one another, provide an avenue for effective information gathering on the assets and provide a platform for coordination and harmonisation of ideas while resolving issues in the course of the assignment.

Okoh also charged the committee to screen the eight small greenfield small hydros in line with the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) guidelines and BPE’s processes and procedures.

He listed the terms reference of the committee to include drawing up modalities for the concession of the small hydro dams; identify necessary measures that will attract reputable private sector interest in the concession of the hydro plants; liaise with the ICRC, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) and other relevant stakeholders in the concession process.

Others are to develop transaction methodologies for the concession of the identified small hydros; and design and drive the implementation of the concession of the project in line with the National Council on Privatisation’s (NCP) approved framework.