The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has signed a framework agreement with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to deliver additional 250MW from stranded power to the customers within the franchise area.
A statement issued by the Head, Communication & Public Relations, NDPHC, Olufunke Nwankwo on Thursday, said the agreement, which was signed in Lagos, took immediate effect.
According to the statement, the NDPHC’s Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, signed for the company, while
The BEDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Funke Osibodu, signed for the disco.
Some of the initial project areas covered by the agreement are: Benin Bypass (industrial cluster near NDPHC’s power plant at Ihovbor, Benin-City, Edo state; Asaba, Delta state, Ondo South Senatorial District, Ondo state and interventions in Ekiti state.
Ugbo recalled that the two companies had in 2020, commenced exploring options to collaborate to deliver reliable power to customers of the BEDC’s franchise area.
“Today, we are glad that we gather here for the purpose of signing a framework agreement for this collaboration. For NDPHC, the project will enable us to deliver more 250mw of power to customers of BEDC’s franchise areas in Edo, Delta, Ondo, and neighbouring states”, he said.
He added that for BEDC’s customers, their homes and industries can now enjoy 24 hours power supply.
The NDPHC boss explained that the journey to the agreement started with initiation of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) by the Federal Government in 2004.
The evolution, according to him, has presented the industry players, including NDPHC and BEDC, with unique challenges.
He said for the distribution firms, the significant capital investments required to upgrade their respective networks has been difficult to raise due to industry challenges.
Also speaking, the BEDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Osibodu, said her company aimed at delivering incremental power from the NDPHC underutilized or stranded capacity to several industrial and commercial hubs through multiple solutions across the certain locations in Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ekiti for electricity value chain.
She said under the agreement, BEDC and NDPHC will provide an end-to-end power solution across the value chain to deliver a minimum of 250mw of additional power.
