Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited is currently collaborating with the Lagos State government to improve power supply in the state.
NDPHC is working towards ensuring that about 300 megawatts of its stranded power is evacuated through a new transmission lines to serve Lagos as well as Ogun State electricity consumers better.
According to the Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, this would be achieved with the construction of 132KV Multi-circuit Transmission Lines, which had been delayed by Way Leave constraint.
Ugbo stated this in Lagos when he took the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote, round the company’s Transmission Substation at Oke-Aro, recently.
He said: “We have electricity to serve Nigerians but it is stranded either at power stations or transmission stations because there are few challenges. We are collaborating seriously with the Lagos State government to make sure that this available electricity gets to the end-users.”
He explained that: “The project has been on but we have serious
way leave challenges. We have enlisted the support of Lagos and Ogun state
governments and they are actively trying to assist us to resolve the challenges
along the line routes.
“We have come to see, to assess and know where the challenges are. Lagos State
Government has a programme, and they need to see the availability of energy
here and ascertain that they can actually take the energy here and make sure it
gets to the consumers in Lagos State.”
According to Mr. Ugbo, there are seven feeders going out of the power station that should have taken at least 100MW, but the feeders between the two distribution companies (Ibadan and Ikeja Discos) are doing less than 30MW.
The Managing Director of NDPHC added: “We called the Ikeja Disco; they told us what the challenges are and we are working with Lagos State Government to see how we can resolve them. We have seven feeders, with four going to Akute, New Iju, Yidi and Lambe, all under Ikeja Electric. They all go to Ikeja Electric injection substations where they are further distributed to the end-users at 11kV lines.
“Under Ibadan Disco, we have Ibafo, which services the Redeemed Camp, Magboro and its environs. There are Dangote and Ijoko lines too. We are also here to ensure that they (Discos) are picking loads.” While commending the management of NDPHC for its interventions, Odusote, said: “What I found out here is that there is capacity that can supply more power to Lagos State. If you look at what we have here, we have about 500MW capacity available to be evacuated out of which we have 100MW capacity of transformers that is actually going out.
“We can do a lot more than that. From the discussions with the distribution companies in Lagos and from the interventions that we are trying to carry out, we realized that we actually need the power to come to Lagos.
“Now, our Light Up Lagos Programme certainly depends on the power being available on the grid.” Odusote concluded.
