A fresh injection of 450 megawatts has returned to Nigeria’s national grid after the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) completed scheduled maintenance at the Geregu National Integrated Power Project in Kogi State. The intervention, carried out by Siemens Energy over a four-week extended minor inspection, was aimed at strengthening the plant’s reliability, performance, and overall operating lifespan.
According to a statement issued by NDPHC’s Head of Corporate Communications and External Relations, Emmanuel Ojor, the restoration forms part of a broader push to revive underperforming or dormant assets across the company’s portfolio. Managing Director/CEO, Jennifer Adighije, noted that Geregu’s recovery is one of several targeted interventions designed to reposition NDPHC as a more efficient and commercially viable generator within the national electricity supply framework.
The company disclosed that it has restored six long-idle gas turbines within the past year—assets spread across the Calabar, Omotosho II, Benin, Sapele, and Alaoji NIPP plants. Once gas supply constraints are cleared for the remaining units, the combined recoveries are expected to contribute about 875MW to NDPHC’s mechanically available capacity, marking one of the most significant single-year operational rebounds by any power company in recent times.
In addition, NDPHC has commenced the rehabilitation of the 225MW Gbarain NIPP in Bayelsa State, a facility that has been inactive since 2020. Adighije described the project as crucial to restoring national generation capacity and advancing the company’s commercialisation strategy geared toward powering major industrial hubs in the Niger Delta.
Despite sector-wide challenges—ranging from gas shortages and grid instability to chronic liquidity constraints—the company says it has posted notable operational and financial achievements. These include retrieving 110 containers of previously stranded turbine and HRSG components stuck at Onne Port for over nine years, moving ahead with the Light Up Nigeria project for the Agbara industrial cluster, and developing a 10MW embedded solar plant for an industrial zone in Kano. Key transmission and distribution upgrades in Borno and Delta States have also been completed, alongside the long-delayed Afam–Ikot Ekpene 330kV double-circuit line.
Financially, NDPHC reports recovering more than $10 million in legacy debts from bilateral customers and securing $15 million in insurance claims related to the Alaoji power plant fire incident. The company is also collaborating with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to establish mechanisms for recovering its transmission-related investments in infrastructure managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria. Long-standing commercial disputes with ACCUGAS have been resolved as well, resulting in an amended gas supply agreement that reduces the Federal Government’s financial exposure.
Beyond infrastructure and finances, NDPHC says it has taken steps to enhance internal governance and workforce morale. Reforms include a procurement benchmarking desk to strengthen transparency, computer-based assessments for staff performance, and a management support allowance introduced to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
Reaffirming the organisation’s long-term mandate, Adighije said NDPHC remains committed to restoring dormant capacity, stabilising operations, and supporting national efforts to deliver a more reliable and sustainable electricity supply. The company, established in 2005 to midwife Nigeria’s National Integrated Power Project, continues to grapple with systemic sector challenges—chiefly inadequate gas supply and transmission bottlenecks—but maintains that its recent recovery drive is the most aggressive since inception.
She emphasised that NDPHC will continue to prioritise transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement as it works toward expanding electricity access for businesses and households nationwide.