The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has invested approximately N500 billion in transmission infrastructure nationwide, with the Lafia 330/132/33kV Transmission Substation serving as a flagship project, managing director Engr. Jennifer Adighije disclosed during an inspection tour of the facility on Thursday.
LEADERSHIP checks indicate that the Lafia substation’s initial contract was valued at approximately N5.49 billion.
Accompanied by senior executives including Engr. Kassim Abdullahi (Generation), Dr. Steven Andzenge (Legal Services), and Engr. Bello Babayo Bello (Networks), Adighije described the Lafia substation—commissioned in 2022—as a “world-class” facility critical to Nigeria’s power grid. The substation, equipped with two 150MVA and two 60MVA transformers, has enhanced electricity supply to Nasarawa State and neighboring regions.
Adighije emphasised NDPHC’s role in bridging transmission gaps, stating: “We are unrelenting in scaling infrastructure to evacuate stranded generation capacity.” She attributed grid limitations to transmission constraints rather than generation shortcomings, noting that NDPHC’s power plants often outstrip existing evacuation capabilities.
Constructed by NDPHC and commissioned in 2022, the substation is a critical component of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
Speaking after the inspection, Adighije described the facility as world-class, noting that it has significantly improved the quality of power supply to Nasarawa State and surrounding states.
The NDPHC MD was accompanied on the visit by the Executive Director Generation, Engr. Kassim Abdullahi, Executive Director, Legal Services, Dr. Steven Andzenge, and Executive Director, Networks, Engr. Bello Babayo Bello.
She emphasized that as a government intervention agency, NDPHC has invested approximately N500 billion in developing transmission infrastructure and networks across the country.
She said: “We are at the Lafia transmission substation, which is a project that was delivered by NDPHC and handed over to the transmission company of Nigeria. It’s a 330/132/33KV transmission substation, comprising two numbers 150 MVA transformers, two numbers 60 MVA transformers, and one by 75 MVA reactor.
“And as you can see, this is a project that was delivered to world-class standards. By every standard, this is one of the best that one can ever find internationally, in line with global best practices and standards. And as the mandates of the NDPHC were very clear in terms of our delivery of projects, because we are an entity essentially that provides backbone services for the sector, ensuring that we deliver projects that would impact the entire gas to electricity value chain”.
The NDPHC CEO pointed out that “NDPHC has invested over N500 billion in transmission projects, transmission lines, transmission infrastructure, line-bay extensions, transformers, substations, you name it, across the entire power sector.
“And in spite of the liquidity crisis that we are facing, we are here to reaffirm our commitment to Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to scale power generation, transmission, and distributed access to electricity”.
She debunked the claim that the company is unable to generate power optimally, stressing that the company has more capacity than transmission can carry.
“Let me put it to Nigerians, that for those that have been saying that the NDPHC were unable to generate optimally, the real issues are that we actually have a generation in excess of the transmission availability. And therefore, at NDPHC we are unrelenting, we are undeterred, and will continue to dedicate resources to ensure that we scale transmission to evacuate the stranded generation that we have”.
Adighije who also led the team on a courtesy visit to the Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr Abdullahi Sule, thanked the governor for his support for the company.
She noted that the enactment of the Electricity Act has opened up the sector, with stakeholders now able to transact business bilaterally.
“And therefore, we are now empowered to be able to stimulate market activities, even here in Nassarawa State, that would ensure that we deliver access to electricity to the last mile that would be of benefit to Nassarawa State, NDPHC and would be of benefit to the common good of Nigerians”, she added.
Governor Sule in his response praised Adighije for leadership qualities, stating that her arrival at the company has led to significant transformation.
He observed that despite having the excellent transmission facility, power supply to the state has been challenging due to poor distribution network.
“We are actually probably transmitting less than we can distribute. So you need all those partners. So the way you are visiting me, please visit all these DisCos.
“It’s very important for them to know that it’s a total waste for you to end up generating this and they are not taken because you need off-takers when you generate. If the off-takers are not taking load, you cannot make your money”, he noted.
