The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has signed a framework agreement with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to deliver additional 250 megawatts (MW) from unused power of the NDPHC plants to customers under the DisCo.
Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr Chiedu Ugbo, at the ceremony, said the agreement took immediate effect and will benefit customers in areas that include Benin Bypass (industrial cluster near NDPHC’s power plant at Ihovbor, Edo State; Asaba in Delta, Ondo South Senatorial District in Ondo and in Ekiti State.
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In a statement by NDPHC spokesperson, Funke Nwankwo, the NDPHC boss, said the process started last year with both firms collaborating to deliver safe and reliable power to customers of the BEDC’s franchise area.
“Today, we are glad that we gather here for the purpose of signing a framework agreement for this collaboration.”
“For NDPHC, the project will enable us to deliver more 250MW of power to customers of BEDC’s franchise areas in Edo, Delta, Ondo, and neighbouring states.
“For BEDC, the project will help BEDC to satisfy its customers with reliable power and achieve an enhancement of its network and infrastructure”.
He also noted that NDPHC has been concerned about the insufficient dispatch of its power generation capacity as it has 10 plants built under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).
Ugbo highlighted liquidity challenges in the electricity market which means that only a small proportion of the power dispatched gets paid for even as a huge number of consumers remain unserved or underserved.
In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of BEDC, Mrs Funke Osibodu, said her company aims at delivering incremental power from the NDPHC stranded capacity to more customers.
Osibodu said the collaboration will see the BEDC partner with NDPHC and others to identify and prioritize critical projects to increase power supply whilst improving on technical and commercial environment.
“The focus will be power supply to certain areas as well as upgrading of all critical distribution infrastructure,” she noted.
