By Charles Ebi
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Niger Delta Power Holding Company ,NDPHC, Engr. Jennifer Adighije, has reaffirmed the company commitment toward the revival and optimisation of idle power plants to pioneering bilateral power sale initiatives that are already reshaping our revenue base,
The MD disclosed this in an interview journalists and reflecting on her one-year stewardship in office, stressing that the progress recorded is proof that the NDPHC can become a central pillar of Nigeria’s energy transition.
According to her, when she assumed office in August 2024, several of NDPHC’s National Integrated Power Project ,NIPP, plants, including Ihovbor, Alaoji, and Omotosho, were operating at less than 5% of their installed capacity due to years of poor maintenance, gas shortages, and transmission bottlenecks.
“In response, we initiated strategic interventions, engaged original equipment manufacturers, improved gas supply arrangements, and recovered five turbine units across our fleet. Today, 625MW has been restored to the national grid, with Alaoji Power Plant, dormant for years, now set to return fully in the coming weeks”, she said.
Adighije noted that the revival of these plants has not only boosted power availability but also restored investor and regulatory confidence in the company’s operations.
Beyond grid supply, the NDPHC boss revealed that the company has shifted its commercial strategy away from sole reliance on Nigeria’s centralised electricity market, which she described as plagued by “chronic liquidity crises and systemic inefficiencies”.
“We have begun moving deliberately into bilateral power sales to eligible customers at cost-reflective tariffs. This will enhance our revenue base, improve liquidity, and insulate NDPHC from market defaults” she explained.
She highlighted new technology-driven reforms introduced in partnership with Microsoft Nigeria, Oracle, and Haier Technologies to modernise NDPHC’s operations through predictive maintenance, data-driven planning, and renewable energy deployment.
On project execution, Adighije disclosed that the long-stalled Egbema Power Plant had advanced from 52% to 80% completion within the year, while work had resumed on the fire-damaged Gbarain Power Plant through a contract awarded to Tilt/Schneider Electric JV.
She added that thousands of households had also benefited from NDPHC’s rural electrification initiatives, including grid extensions, substations, feeders, and solar systems across the geopolitical zones.
Despite these gains, the MD acknowledged persistent challenges such as inadequate gas supply, transmission constraints, and market debts running into trillions of naira. She welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to offsetting over N4 trillion owed to power generation companies, including NDPHC, which she said had crippled operations in the past.
Adighije also unveiled governance reforms undertaken in her first year, including new performance monitoring frameworks, stricter procurement processes, quarterly performance reviews, and a partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ,EFCC, to combat procurement fraud and strengthen accountability.
Looking ahead, she said her agenda for the coming year would focus on commercial sustainability, completion of critical NIPP projects, renewable energy expansion, and human capital development.
“I envision NDPHC evolving into a commercially sustainable, technologically advanced, and socially impactful company in the next five years. Our goal is to unlock the full potential of our assets and become a model for transparency, efficiency, and industrial growth in Nigeria”, she stated.
The NDPHC, established to manage the National Integrated Power Projects ,NIPP, remains one of Nigeria’s largest power generation companies with critical assets spread across the federation.
Over the past year, we have made meaningful progress in identifying and engaging large, creditworthy electricity consumers who qualify as Eligible Customers under the NERC framework. Through structured negotiations and strategic engagement, we are working to establish bilateral agreements that allow NDPHC to sell power directly to these customers at cost-reflective tariffs. This approach, though still a work in progress, is aimed at enhancing our revenue base, improving liquidity, and insulating the company from the inefficiencies of the centralized market.
While we have not yet concluded all the agreements, the process is well underway, and the traction we are gaining is encouraging. It’s a journey that requires strong regulatory alignment, internal restructuring, and customer confidence, but it is a journey we are committed to. These strategic efforts are already repositioning NDPHC as a more agile and commercially responsive entity, with a clearer path toward long-term sustainability and impact.
However, the Company have navigated a complex operating environment characterized by persistent liquidity challenges, legacy constraints, inadequate market structures, and systemic inefficiencies in the rapidly evolving national electricity value chain. These challenges, though daunting, have only served to sharpen our resolve and inspire a new level of innovation, resilience, and collaboration across NDPHC.
According to her, ‘We have leveraged these difficulties as catalysts for reform, pushing forward by developing effective strategies, leveraging relationships, entering strategic Joint Development Agreements ,JDAs, with major sector players, and laying the groundwork for smarter, more sustainable energy infrastructure. She said.
However, she assured that substantial progress has been made in restoring the gas metering infrastructure, and the plant is expected to be back online before year-end. “Significant steps have been taken to restore the Gas Metering Station ,GMS, to provide a lasting solution to gas losses to the plant”, she said.
Despite these setbacks, NDPHC has continued to invest heavily in transmission and distribution infrastructure, committing over N500 billion to projects such as substations, transformers, transmission lines, switchgear, and line bay extensions many of which are now operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria ,TCN.
In spite of these limitations, NDPHC continues to spearhead transmission grid expansion plans and distribution network interventions to enable power generation to be delivered to the last-mile underserved communities”, she stated.
