FG sees huge global response in privatisation of 10 NDPHC power plants

The Federal Government said it is anticipating huge response from global power investors as government takes sales of the 10 independent power generation plants built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and New York, considered the heart of global investment.

Atedo Peterside, chairman of the technical committee of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), while speaking with BusinessDay in Abuja, said government will be leveraging on the successes recorded in the sales of the 10 power generation (Gencos) and 11 distribution companies (Discos) as it embarks on more road shows in its bid to attract companies with strong muscles and create a more competitive process.

The NCP and the NDPHC, he said, have inaugurated three committees to fast-track the sales of National Independent Power Plant (NIPP) projects under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.

They include the Joint Evaluation; Joint Transaction and Joint Technical Transaction committees each chaired by NDPHC boss, James Olotu; director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Benjamin Dikki, and Governor Gabriel Suswam, respectively.

The current privatisation process for the Gencos and Discos are billed to be completed in July, while government said the next stage is a focus on commercialisation of the power sector.

Government had earlier said only about 40 million Nigerians currently have access to electricity out of the 160 million people, leaving about 120 million Nigerians that are without power. This situation left the Nigerian power sector to be considered the most lucrative sector in the economy capable of providing better returns than oil and gas.

According to Peterside, government is looking forward to partnering with independent producers, adding that power funding should not be left to government alone.

“There is a lot of synergy going on and we are working hard to ensure that the best practices are observed. Investors are already having confidence in the process based on the outcome of the privatisation of Gencos and Discos”, he said.

The NCP said it has also ensured that all the stakeholders in the NDPHC, namely the local government councils, the state governments and the host communities gave their support to the current privatisation process.

Engaging the state and local governments as well as the host communities are ways of guaranteeing that whoever buys these assets get the cooperation and support of the people at the grassroots.

“All the owners have consented to the sales of these assets but what is important is that the process must be seen to be transparent by both the investors and the owners of the assets.

“You may decide to do something in your bedroom and later come out to tell the people that what you have done is transparent, but it is different from when you do the same thing in the open place and allow the people to do the assessment themselves. What we have done so far have been done in the open and the people know that everything have been transparent and we are confident that they will speak for us as we move into the next stage”.

Chinedu Nebo, power minister, disclosed that government is focusing on energy mix, including those of solar, hydro and wind energy, to meet the energy requirement of the country.