The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) is preparing to transition into the second phase of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), with a strategic shift towards renewable energy investments aimed at improving electricity supply and addressing persistent power shortages, particularly in northern Nigeria.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDPHC, Engr. Jennifer Adighije, disclosed this in Abuja during an oversight visit to the company’s headquarters by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, chaired by Hon. Victor Nwokolo.

Adighije said NIPP Phase 2 would focus on diversifying Nigeria’s electricity generation mix by harnessing the country’s considerable renewable energy potential, particularly the solar and tidal resources available in northern Nigeria.

She said NDPHC was considering a combination of off-grid solutions, mini-hydropower projects and other solar power interventions as part of its strategy to address electricity supply gaps across the country.

“Where we are currently is NIPP Phase 1, which is power generation from fossil fuels, from gas. The NIPP Phase 2, in line with the Energy Transition Plan, is where we are diversifying our generation mix and preparing to transition to renewable energy,” she said.

The planned transition represents a major expansion of the NIPP mandate, which has historically concentrated heavily on gas-fired electricity generation.

Adighije said NDPHC currently contributes approximately 4,000 megawatts to Nigeria’s installed generation capacity of about 12,000MW, representing roughly 30 per cent of the country’s installed capacity.

She explained that NDPHC had constructed 10 power plants under NIPP Phase 1, seven of which are currently commercially operational, while two are under construction and one is undergoing upgrades.

Beyond electricity generation, Adighije highlighted NDPHC’s extensive interventions in the transmission and distribution segments of the power sector, noting that the company had completed 120 transmission projects.

The projects comprised 60 330kV substations, 31 132kV substations and 37 expansion projects, with the completed infrastructure providing installed transformer capacity of more than 10,000MVA.

She added that NDPHC had also executed hundreds of distribution projects across the country, including the installation of distribution transformers as well as the construction and expansion of 33kV and 11kV lines.

According to her, the company’s interventions were aimed at strengthening the electricity infrastructure required to evacuate generated power and deliver it to consumers, while addressing bottlenecks across the generation, transmission and distribution value chain.

Adighije also outlined the achievements recorded by her administration since assuming leadership of NDPHC, particularly during its first 100 days.

She disclosed that the company had recovered 110 abandoned containers and 216 packages within the first 100 days of her administration, a development she said had saved NDPHC more than N30 billion.

Other areas of focus, she said, included debt recovery, digitalisation, improved procurement practices, asset restoration, completion of distribution projects and recovery of several generation units.

On debt recovery, Adighije said NDPHC had recovered approximately $12 million from cross-border bilateral customers in Togo, as well as other debtors, from an outstanding exposure of more than $50 million.

She further disclosed that NDPHC had recovered several turbines across its power plants, restoring approximately 470MW of generation capacity to the national electricity system.

The recovery of the generation units, she said, was part of efforts to improve the availability of electricity from NDPHC-owned plants and maximise the company’s existing generation assets.

Despite these interventions, however, Adighije identified several structural and financial challenges constraining NDPHC’s ability to fully utilise its available generation capacity.

She listed transmission constraints, low electricity tariffs, inadequate market settlements, gas supply challenges, unpaid debts and vandalism among the major challenges affecting the company’s operations.

According to her, NDPHC currently has more than 1,500MW of mechanically available generation capacity, but is allocated an hourly dispatch of only about 500MW.

The resulting gap has created significant suppressed and stranded generation capacity, limiting the amount of electricity NDPHC can actually deliver to the national grid despite having substantially more generation capacity available.

Adighije estimated that the situation had cost NDPHC more than N300 billion, and called for regulatory intervention to review the existing dispatch merit order in order to enable available generation capacity to be more effectively utilised.

She also appealed to the House Committee on Power to intervene in the recovery of outstanding debts owed to NDPHC by participants in the electricity market.

Among the major debtors, she identified the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), which she said had accumulated liabilities of more than N400 billion to NDPHC.

She further disclosed that the company was seeking the settlement of obligations arising from NDPHC assets that have been recognised in the regulated asset base of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Adighije urged the lawmakers to assist in resolving the financial and regulatory constraints, stressing that NDPHC’s ability to invest in and operate its assets effectively depends significantly on the settlement of outstanding obligations across the electricity market.

Responding to the presentation, the Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Hon. Victor Nwokolo, commended the NDPHC management for its efforts to improve electricity generation and strengthen infrastructure across the power sector.

Nwokolo described NDPHC’s activities as critical to the entire electricity value chain, noting that effective generation, transmission and distribution were mutually dependent.

“We have also been to their power stations. And, honestly, they are taking some reasonable, very reasonable actions towards making Nigeria’s access [to] electricity,” he said.

He stressed that the success of Nigeria’s electricity sector depended on the effective performance of all three major segments of the value chain.

“If they don’t generate, there’s nothing to transmit. If they don’t transmit, there’s nothing for me to distribute. So I must commend them,” he said.

Nwokolo also commended Adighije for what he described as her proactive approach to managing NDPHC and addressing the operational challenges confronting the company’s power plants.

He specifically cited the Alaoji power plant as an example, stressing that the facility could have faced a more serious situation without proactive intervention by the current NDPHC management.

The committee chairman assured the company that the legislature would provide support where necessary, noting that NDPHC could not independently resolve all the challenges confronting Nigeria’s power sector.

Nwokolo said the committee would examine the concerns raised by NDPHC and engage relevant stakeholders towards finding solutions to the problems identified by the company.

He explained that the oversight visit was designed to give lawmakers a clearer understanding of NDPHC’s operations, achievements and challenges, rather than create an adversarial relationship between the legislature and the power company.

According to him, legislative oversight should provide a platform for public institutions to demonstrate what they have achieved, explain the obstacles confronting their operations and receive the necessary intervention and support from lawmakers.

Nwokolo further commended NDPHC for welcoming the oversight process, saying such engagements were important for strengthening accountability and improving collaboration between government agencies and the legislature.

The planned transition to NIPP Phase 2 consequently comes as NDPHC seeks to build on its gas-fired generation infrastructure while preparing for a broader and more diversified electricity system.

The renewable-energy focus, particularly the proposed deployment of solar, tidal, mini-hydropower and off-grid solutions, is expected to complement existing gas-fired generation and provide alternative electricity sources for areas where extending conventional grid infrastructure may be difficult or uneconomic.

The move also aligns NDPHC’s future investment programme with Nigeria’s broader Energy Transition Plan, while maintaining its role as one of the country’s largest contributors to electricity generation and a major investor in transmission and distribution infrastructure.

However, the company’s ability to translate its installed and mechanically available capacity into actual electricity supply will continue to depend on resolving the transmission bottlenecks, market liquidity constraints, gas shortages, tariff limitations, debt obligations and other operational challenges highlighted by its management.