NDPHC Plans Additional 100,000 Home Units of Renewable Energy

•Decries N100bn NESI debt

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) yesterday disclosed that it was planning to install 100,000 units of renewable energy in Nigerian homes, after an initial 20,000 units.

In an address delivered by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, of the organisation, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, at the 2022 Seminar for Power Correspondents in Calabar, Cross River State, the company also decried the N100 billion owed NDPHC by the sector.

“NDPHC has also diversified into renewable energy. Aside the 20,000 home units that we installed, there are plans to add another 100,000 units across the country.

“It should be noted that the company has been operating its existing plants, completing those still under construction and intervening in transmission and distribution through its internally generated revenue,” he explained.

“In spite of this, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is owing NDPHC over N100 billion. Again, our tariff is the cheapest among thermal companies even though we all buy gas at the same price in the market,” he stated.

Ugbo noted that the task of providing adequate electricity to Nigerians has been arduous, explaining that as a company jointly owned by every Nigerian through local, state and federal governments, Nigerians look more unto the NDPHC  than its competitors.

He added that the NDPHC was striving assiduously to live up to the expectation, stressing that the organisation being primarily a generation company, also intervenes very seriously in both transmission and distribution segments of the power sector.

“In addition, we also a sociasible company through our corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects,” he noted.

He implored the media to join the NDPHC in appealing to every Nigerian and every community where it has installations to regard those projects as theirs and so protect them from theft and vandalism.

Within the last one year , Ugbo said the NDPHC has witnessed some setbacks through such actions when gas pipelines were damaged and also recently when high tension towers were pulled down and parts carted away in River State.

While highlighting the cooperation he has had from stakeholders,  he noted that the organisation will work towards achieving its goal of lighting up Nigeria.

He explained that the  organisation was conceived in 2004 and developed to address the issues of insufficient electric power generation and excessive gas flaring from oil exploration in the Niger Delta region.

The 10 thermal plants that were designed, he said, included: Ihovbor Power Station Benin, Edo State; Calabar Power Station, Cross River State; Egbema Power Station, Imo State and Gbarain Power Station, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Others, he said,  are Sapele Power Station, Delta State; Omoku Power Station, Rivers State; Alaoji Power Station, Abia State, combined cycle plant; Omotosho II Power Station, Ondo State; Olorunsogo II Power Station, Ogun State, combined cycle plant and Geregu II Power Station, Kogi State.