By Clara Nwachukwu
Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, owners of the National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, has raised an alarms that about 1,025megawatts, MW, of electricity are stranded in three NIPP plants due to gas shortages.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy  General Maanager,  Communications  & Public Relations, Mr. Yakubu Lawal, which was made available to Vanguard.

According the Statement, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the company, Mr. James Abiodun Olotu, disclosed this last week in Abuja, when the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Adenrele Shinaba paid him a courtesy call.

“As we speak, we have five units at our Olorunsogo Phase II Power station ready to deliver 650MW, and in Sapele about 250MW,while in Omotosho we have 125MW of electricity ready for the national grid,” Olotu said.

The NDPHC boss, however, pointed out that the delivery of this 1,025MW to the national grid is dependent on the availability of gas, adding that the gas suppliers – the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, International Oil Companies, IOCs, and the Nigeria Gas Company, NGC, are beefing up efforts to bridge the gap.

When this happens, Olotu promised that the year will be a harvest for power generation, adding that the Alaoji Power Station, the largest among the 10 NIPPs, will also make a significant power delivery to the national grid before year end.

“This year in NIPP is a year of harvest. Last week, we were in Lagos to commission 10 distribution injection substations that will boost the quality of electricity that will go to consumers. Similar, projects were commissioned in Kaduna, and more projects will be commissioned every month till the end of the year,” he stated.

He noted that NIPP projects cut across generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across the country, and argued that the magnitude of these infrastructure make it imperative for the organisation to consistently seek the cooperation and support of the Police, and other law enforcement agencies in protecting the facilities and creating the enabling environment for contractors to work.

The Managing Director thanked the Police chief and his team, and urged him to continue to support the organisation to bring the visionof President Goodluck Jonathan to light up Nigeria to reality.

In his remarks, Shinaba explained that the visit was part of his strategy to acquaint himself with the operations of all establishments under his command. He commended the effort of the federal government through NDPHC to address the challenges in the power sector to ensure adequate and steady electricity supply to the people of Nigeria.

He assured the management of NDPHC that his command will do everything possible to provide security assistance whenever the need arose, noting that the responsibility bestowed on NDPHC in boosting power infrastructure in the country is enormous.