Niger Delta Power Holding Company Reveals N190bn Debt Owed by Government Entities

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), and the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company owe a cumulative sum of N190 billion for electricity supply.

Chiedu Ugbo, the Managing Director and CEO of NDPHC, shared this information during a media briefing in Lagos.

Ugbo highlighted that the N190 billion debt has accumulated from 2015 to May 2023. While the exact amount owed by NBET wasn’t specified, Ugbo emphasized that the huge indebtedness to NDPHC runs into hundreds of billions, affecting the company’s operations and financial obligations.

He stated, “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.”

Ugbo emphasized the challenging situation the debt has created, making it difficult for NDPHC to meet operational expenditures, pay gas suppliers, and maintain regular power generation.

To overcome these challenges, he called for urgent private capital mobilization and explored independent transmission projects, involving Gencos as investors.

Executive Director, Generation, Engr. Abdullahi Kassim, highlighted the ‘Light-up Nigeria Initiative,’ a program aimed at leveraging NDPHC’s generation assets to provide reliable power supply to eligible customers, distribution companies, and third-party project developers, ultimately achieving over 97% power distribution to the masses.