Intrigues Stall Evacuation Of 450mw From Zungeru Hydro Plant

High-level intrigues and politics have stalled the effective transmission of 450 megawatts generated by the newly inaugurated Zungeru Hydro Power plant to the national grid, LEADERSHIP Sunday has learnt.

The plant, which has an installed capacity of 700 megawatts, cannot transmit effectively to the national grid due to the absence of certain cables.

It was also learned that unlike other hydropower dams, which are of lower capacity, the cable required for power step-down and evacuation by the new dam is higher in voltage.

A source in the facility told LEADERSHIP Sunday that heavy pylon cable is required, which the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) should have provided. However, Mainstream Energy Ltd, which won the concession, was awarded the contract to provide the cable.

The source, who preferred to be anonymous, alleged high-level intrigues and vested interests to reverse the concession to Mainstream Energy, which won the bid in the last days of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

It was learnt that some vested interests are working assiduously to frustrate the transmission of the power generated from the plant to the national grid, making the company look ineffective and incompetent.

Our correspondent learnt that interests want to frustrate the transmission process to reverse the concession to the company. Hence, last month, Mainstream Energy was awarded the contract to supply the pylon cable.

It was further revealed that the plant has started partial transmission to the Giuseppe-Shiroro-Katampe line. At the same time, the pylon cable will also be laid from Kaduna to Zungeru so that the power generated can be evacuated and effectively transmitted to the national grid.

When contacted, the officer in charge of transmission in Zungeru Dam, Yahaya Ndace, confirmed that the company was generating over 400 megawatts and fluctuating.

On whether it is on the national grid, he said, “We are on the national grid.” When asked further whether they are encountering any problems being on the grid, he said, “Zungeru is on the national grid, no problem.”

An official of the Federal Ministry of Power told LEADERSHIP Sunday that he would look into the issue and revert

However, as of the time of filing this report last night, he had not provided the clarification.