The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima to summon an emergency meeting of the Board of Niger Delta Power Holding company (NDPHC) with a view to resuscitating the 252 Megawatts Gbarain Power Plant Station in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Oboku Oforji, who expressed grave concern over the failure of NDPHC management to resuscitate the power plant which was constructed at the sum of $400 million but currently worth $800 million.
While stressing the need for urgent resuscitation of the Gbarain Power Plant in order to increase the national grid, Hon. Oforji frowned at the lackadaisical attitude of NDPHC management for sharing in its responsibilities.
In his lead debate, Hon. Oforji observed that the Niger Delta Power Holding Plants were built with resources of the three tiers of Government (Federal, State and Local Government) through the application of the excess crude funds.
“The House also note that Gbarain is one of the 23 National Integrated power projects which has been deemed ‘critical infrastructure in the generation, transmission, distribution and natural gas supply sub-sectors of the electric power value chain’ by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
“The House further note that on the 30th of November 2020, the Niger Delta Power Holding company (NDPHC) lost the Power Control Module (PCM) of the Gbarain power plant to an inferno.
“The Bayelsa State Government offered to take some responsibility of the NDPHC, since the state happened to be the most affected, particularly as the state-owned Niger Delta University derives its electricity supply from the station.
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“Accordingly, the State Government undertook the rehabilitation and restoration of power supply through the 60MVA,132/33KV power transformer which is currently supplying the Gbarain power station auxiliaries and the host communities through the 2×15 MVA33/11KV injection substation which was not functioning before the intervention and also a NDPHC project.
“The House is disturbed that three years down the line the NDPHC have not been able to live up to their responsibility by replacing the Power Control Module, which allegedly have been lying redundant in one of its uncompleted station.
“The House is cognizant that the Gbarain Power Station has close proximity of only 700m to the Gbarain-Ubie multi-million dollars Central Gas processing facility that transports over one billion, Standard cubic feet of gas to the NLNG in Bonny, therefore gas is not a constraint.
“One is prompted to doubt the competence of Niger Delta Holding Company to manage this power plant which has the potentials to be the largest power station in the nation because of its comparative advantage over other Power Plants in its proximity to gas. Reaching its potentials, Gbarain Power Station can conveniently power the whole Niger Delta Region and beyond.
“The House is saddened that rather than resuscitate the power plant which is built with $400 million and valued at of today with over $800 million, the management of the NDPHC is proposing to designate the 252MW Open Cycle Power station as a construction site, thereby abandoning its primary responsibility of running it to the benefit of the state, the Niger Delta and the nation at large.
“In fact, the Shell Petroleum Development Company has over 60MMsc (sixty million Standard Cubic Feet) of gas allocated to the plant which is unutilised due to the inability of company to operate.
“This in itself is a risk to the community In case of a leakage of the gas pipeline. It is the intervention of the Bayelsa State Government that has kept the equipment intact, because they are supposed to be under controlled temperature if not, they would have exploded,” he noted.
To this end, the House mandated the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company to appear before the House and shed light on the state of the NDPHC and the Gbarain Power Plant in particular.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
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