- NISO committed to equitably dispatching up to 2,000MW of idle power from NDPHC plants after CEO Jennifer Adighije pushed for regulatory support.
- NDPHC aims to boost supply with plant recoveries, including Alaoji Power Plant’s return in August 2025.
Nigeria’s Independent System Operator (NISO) has agreed to boost electricity dispatch from Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) plants, aiming to unlock up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) of idle stranded capacity.
NDPHC Managing Director Jennifer Adighije led a team to NISO’s Abuja office to push for greater dispatch access. She said NDPHC, despite owning over 5,000MW in installed capacity across 10 plants, remains underutilised mainly due to the absence of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET).
“We are the largest power generation asset owner in Nigeria, yet we don’t get fair treatment,” Adighije said. “We are actively negotiating bilateral PPAs with eligible customers. About 200MW could be commercialised by year-end, once we get regulatory approval.”
She said NDPHC has more than doubled plant availability in the past nine months and expects further improvement. The Alaoji Power Plant, offline for two years, is scheduled to return to the grid in August. One more unit at Omotosho will also come online by the end of this month.
Adighije said the company focuses on optimising both operations and stranded capacity. “Every power plant is judged by its availability. We’ve improved this by over 100%,” she said.
She also pointed to NDPHC’s role in building Nigeria’s transmission backbone. “We’ve built over 50 substations at 330kV, over 25 at 132kV, and added 9,000 MVA in transformer capacity. We expect this to reflect in how we are prioritised.”
In addition, NISO Managing Director Abdu Bello Mohammed promised to treat NDPHC fairly. “NDPHC is the country’s largest utility, yet we currently dispatch only 500–800MW from its assets. We are working to close that gap,” he said.
He said NISO will integrate NDPHC fully into the grid’s SCADA/EMS system for better real-time dispatch and frequency control. He also committed to reviewing the Economic Merit Order Dispatch model to ensure fairness to government-owned generators.
Mohammed said the move will support grid stability and improve power supply across Nigeria. He added that leveraging NDPHC’s capacity could boost electricity trade within the West African Power Pool (WAPP).
The agreement marks a key step in reducing stranded capacity, improving energy sector liquidity, and strengthening Nigeria’s power infrastructure.