The federal government through the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) has said 12 hydropower plants are slated for concession in five states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The director-general, BPE, Alex Okoh said the concession is in a bid to unlock the values and full potentials of the hydropower plants which have a generation capacity of 1,200 Mega Watts to 1,500 Mega Watts, for the purpose of electricity production.
According to a statement on Thursday signed by Amina Othman, head, Public Communications, the hydropower plants include eight Greenfields and four Brownfields located in Adamawa, Benue, Kogi, Ogun, and Taraba States as well as the FCT.
The DG noted that only 40 percent of the country’s over 200 million population currently has access to electricity; and called for the establishment of energy sources and resources to supplement the limited power generation and supply in Nigeria.
Okoh made the call at the inauguration of the Project Delivery Team (PDT) for the concession of Small Hydros in the country in Abuja on Wednesday, October 27, 2021.
This is even as he reiterated that Nigeria has abundant natural energy resources to address the power challenges bedevilling the country to include the Sun, Wind, Hydro and Biomass (waste).
The DG further informed the inauguration was in line with the mandate of the Bureau and as fallout of the recent Federal Government Circular that provided clarity on the institutional framework for the administration of concession in the country which the Bureau successfully engaged the relevant Federal Ministries to get the buy-in.
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According to him, the concession provides another opportunity for the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and BPE to work together, in addition to the collaborative efforts at the partial commercialisation and concession of four pilot River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) in the country.
He charged the 13-member committee drawn from relevant Federal Ministries, the BPE, and other stakeholders to among others, ensure transparent transaction, cooperate with one another, provide an avenue for effective information gathering on the assets, and provide a platform for coordination & harmonization of ideas while resolving issues in the course of the assignment.
The director-general also charged the committee to screen the eight Greenfield Small Hydros in line with the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) guidelines and BPE’s processes and procedures.
The Terms Reference (TOR) of the project include: Draw up modalities for the concession of the Small Hydro Dams; Identify necessary measures that will attract reputable private sector interest in the concession of the Hydro plants;
Liaise with Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), and other relevant stakeholders in the concession process;
Develop transaction methodologies for the concession of the identified small hydros; and Design and drive the implementation of the concession of the project in line with the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) approved framework.
