BPE offers five GenCos to investors

BUREAU of Public Enterprises (BPE) has called on prospective investors to express interest in purchasing 100 percent shareholding in any of the five power generation companies under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) listed for sale.

  A release signed by the Director-General of BPE, Alex Okoh, said the offer was in continuation of ongoing reforms of Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) apart from being consistent with Nigerian Electric Power Policy (NEPS) and Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Acts, 2005.

  Okoh also said that Board of Directors of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and National Council on Privatisation (NCP) had approved the sale of the five companies, which are located in Kogi, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Ogun States, through a competitive bidding process.

  Wooing prospective investors to submit separate Expressions of Interest (EoI) for each generation company, Okoh said that the five in-service generation plants are Geregu Generation Company Ltd with gross installed capacity at ISO condition of 506 Megawatts (MW) and Benin (Ihovbor) Generation Company Ltd with 507 MW while others are Calabar Generation Ltd with 634MW, Omotosho Generation Ltd with 513MW and Olorunsogo Generation Company Ltd with 754MW.

  “Each bidder must be an experienced power generation company that owns and/or operates utility size power plants. In case of a consortium, at least one of the consortium members must be an experienced power generation company. The technical partner shall be responsible for providing operation, maintenance and management services under a long-term agreement,” he said.

  Also yesterday, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network President, Kunle Olubiyo, said the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) cannot do without the N120 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) metering intervention.

  Describing the gesture as a welcome development, Olubiyo explained that without it many companies may go under.

  “CBN intervention in DisCos is a welcome development. If the consumers’ transformers break down, the majority of the DisCos will be helpless. They have not been able to effectively pull out funds to invest in procurement, repair or replacement of transformers. If your community has an issue and writes to any of the DisCos, they will be helpless,” he said.