The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Chiedu Ugbo, has disclosed that the debt burden of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) within Nigeria’s power system is currently estimated to be between N150 billion and N180 billion.
He said, “Huge indebtedness by the market to NDPHC runs into hundreds of billions, N190 billion as of May for unpaid invoices. NDPHC is also not paid for availability but only as dispatched thereby depriving NDPHC of hundreds of billions since 2015 when the Transitional Electricity Market was declared, and the government has so far been denied revenue as high as N3trn.”
He made this statement during a media roundtable held on Monday in Lagos but emphasised that they have not hampered the company’s commitment to the Light Up Nigeria Project.
Furthermore, Ugbo acknowledged that NDPHC itself is indebted to various entities in the power value chain, including gas producers.
Light Up project
Regarding the Light Up Project, he mentioned ongoing initiatives, such as supplying Ota Industrial Clusters through the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), with several other projects in progress with different Distribution Companies (DisCos).
On a separate note, Ugbo explained that the stake in 10 Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) remains frozen due to the owners’ indecision about selling the business.
In his words, “The owners of the business have not come up with a decision to sell. We at the NDPHC are just caretakers.
“We will act based on any decision taken by the owners of the business, which are the federal and the state governments.”
