ABUJA, Nigeria — The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has raised alarm over a mounting N600 billion debt owed by the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and other structural challenges, which it says are significantly impeding its operations and undermining its contribution to Nigeria’s power sector.
In a statement issued Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Abuja through her Technical Adviser on Media, Mr. Adesanya Adejokun, NDPHC Managing Director Jennifer Adighije described the situation as “severe,” pointing to gas supply constraints, transmission bottlenecks, and poor offtake from power distribution companies (DisCos) as key barriers.
“NDPHC currently has mechanically available generation capacity of about 2,000MW that is significantly stranded due to transmission constraints, gas supply and gas transportation limitations,” Adighije said.
Despite these limitations, she noted that the new management has made progress, successfully reviving five previously offline turbine units across the Calabar, Omotosho, Sapele, and Ihovbor power plants—adding a combined 625 megawatts (MW) to the national grid.
The NDPHC head highlighted that NIPP power plants under NDPHC have frequently been used by the national grid operator for stabilisation purposes through primary frequency response, but these essential services are yet to be monetised in accordance with the grid code and industry regulations.
“These plants are ordered to start up and shut down at the prerogative of the system operator without any form of compensation, thus leading to low utilisation and operational stress on turbine units,” she stated.
In some cases, Adighije added, the demand is present, but the national grid lacks sufficient dispatch corridors or transmission capacity to accommodate the generated power.
Adighije expressed concern over NBET’s failure to finalise a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NDPHC, a move she said would have improved the company’s position on the national dispatch schedule.
“Currently, NDPHC is placed in the least priority bucket for dispatch, despite having a daily available dispatch capacity of about 2,000MW,” she said.
“This has impacted the company negatively, financially, and further exacerbates the stranded capacity.”
The company’s difficulties have also been compounded by a dispute over gas metering with a supplier, leading to the temporary shutdown of the Alaoji Power Plant.
However, the plant is expected to resume operations before the end of the year.
In response to persistent grid challenges and delayed payments, the NDPHC is now shifting its strategy towards direct power sales through bilateral agreements with eligible customers.
This follows a July 2023 directive from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) allowing generation companies to sell power directly outside of the traditional market structure.
“We are prioritising direct supply to bilateral and eligible customers to commercialise our stranded capacity,” Adighije said.
“This move aligns with the NERC order, which permits generation companies to trade directly with eligible customers – a step aimed at addressing the issue of stranded capacity.”
Adighije further disclosed that since the inception of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), NDPHC has invested over ₦500 billion in transmission infrastructure—including transformers, substations, switch yards, and lines—many of which are now operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Despite these investments, she stressed that continued government and regulatory support would be essential to fully unlock NDPHC’s potential and help stabilise Nigeria’s struggling electricity sector.
“With strategic focus and reforms, NDPHC is poised to play a transformative role in delivering reliable electricity to Nigerians, especially through untapped bilateral and embedded power markets,” she said.
