The Managing Director/CEO of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, has announced partnership with the federal Ministry of Water Resources to develop small and medium hydropower projects.
He stated this when he led the management team on a courtesy visit to the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, in Abuja on Tuesday, said a statement by NDPHC spokesperson, Funke Nwankwo.
Ugbo noted that though the company has t10 power generation plants with eight linked to the national grid with about 4,099 megawatts (MW), most are located in the southern part and are unable to generate optimally due to poor transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“In renewable energy, we are working on solar, not just stand alone but also mini-grid and on utility scale, that is on one side. We also thought that part of the programme is hydroelectric and the best way to start it is the dams”, he said.
Responding, the minister said Nigeria has over 240 dams with most having the capacity for hydropower, adding that the dams have the capacity from 40MW and below.
Adamu said most of the projects have been halted because of poor planning as he said most irrigation projects in the country require a lot of water which also needs a lot of electricity to operate, daily trust reports.