Adighije: NDPHC Has Invested N500bn in Power Transmission Infrastructure Nationwide
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Chief Executive of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Jennifer Adighije, yesterday led the company’s management team on an inspection of the 330/132/33kV Lafia substation, disclosing that N500 billion has so far been invested in developing transmission infrastructure by the company nationwide.
Constructed by NDPHC and commissioned in 2022, the Lafia substation is a critical component of Nigeria’s power infrastructure, and was built to significantly improve the quality of power supply to Nasarawa and surrounding states.
Adighije was accompanied on the visit by the Executive Director in charge of Generation, Kassim Abdullahi; Executive Director, Legal Services, Dr. Steven Azinge, and Executive Director, Networks, Babayo Bello, according to a statement by the General Manager, Corporate Communication and External Relations, NDPHC, Olufunke Nwankwo.
“This is a project that was delivered by NDPHC and handed over to the transmission company of Nigeria. It’s a 330/132/33KV transmission substation, comprising two 150 MVA transformers, two 60 MVA transformers, and one by 75 MVA reactor.
“And as you can see, this is a project that was delivered to world-class standards. By every standard, this is one of the best that one can ever find internationally, in line with global best practices and standards.
“And as the mandates of the NDPHC were very clear in terms of our delivery of projects, because we are an entity essentially that provides backbone services for the sector, ensuring that we deliver projects that would impact the entire gas to electricity value chain,” the Managing Director stated.
She added: “NDPHC has invested over N500 billion in transmission projects, transmission lines, transmission infrastructure, line-bay extensions, transformers, substations, you name it, across the entire power sector.
“And in spite of the liquidity crisis that we are facing, we are here to reaffirm our commitment to Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to scale power generation, transmission, and distributed access to electricity”.
She debunked the claim that the company is unable to generate power optimally, stressing that the company has more capacity than transmission can carry.
“Let me put it to Nigerians, that for those that have been saying that the NDPHC is unable to generate optimally, the real issues are that we actually have a generation in excess of the transmission availability.
“And therefore, at NDPHC we are unrelenting, we are undeterred, and will continue to dedicate resources to ensure that we scale transmission to evacuate the stranded generation that we have,” she assured.
Adighije, who also led the team on a visit to the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, thanked the governor for his support for the company, noting that the enactment of the Electricity Act has opened up the sector, with stakeholders now able to transact business bilaterally.
“And therefore, we are now empowered to be able to stimulate market activities, even here in Nasarawa state, that would ensure that we deliver access to electricity to the last mile that would be of benefit to Nasarawa state, NDPHC and would be of benefit to the common good of Nigerians”, she added.
Sule, in his response, praised Adighije for her leadership qualities, stating that her arrival at the company has led to significant transformation, observing that despite having the excellent transmission facility, power supply to the state has been challenging due to poor distribution network.
“We are actually probably transmitting less than we can distribute. So you need all those partners. So the way you are visiting me, please visit all these Distribution Companies (Discos).
“It’s very important for them to know that it’s a total waste for you to end up generating this and they are not taken because you need off-takers when you generate. If the off-takers are not taking load, you cannot make your money,” he noted.
