Power generation to soon receive massive boost – ICRC

Mr Chidi Izuwah, the Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) says power generation in the country will soon witness a massive boost.

A statement issued by the commission on Friday in Abuja said Izuwah gave the assurance during a consultative visit by Mr Lamu Audu, the Managing Director, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited.

Izuwah said that a multi-stakeholder collaborative platform would be put in place to ensure that challenges in the sector were addressed on a sustainable basis.

He said that the lack of new investments was one of the several bottlenecks inhibiting smooth operations in the sector.

The director-general urged the management of the company and other players in the power generation business to lay emphasis on capacity and energy charge.

‘‘All parties need to seek solutions that work for the government and at the same time support and encourage private investment in the economy,” he said.

Izuwah also pledged total commitment of the ICRC in ensuring that infrastructural transformation agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, including the provision of stable power for Nigerians, was realised.

Audu, speaking on the purpose of the visit said it was a follow up to a recent monitoring visit undertaken by a team from the ICRC to the company’s facilities in Jebba and Shiroro.

According to him, presently, the company generates the cheapest power in the country and is willing to make new investments including the development of an industrial cluster.

He added that installed capacity for the power plant was 1,338 Megawatts (MW) while available power stood at 922 MW and stranded power, on the other hand, stood at 250 MW.

Audu said the company was on the verge of signing a 96 MW deal at Jebba.

He, however, lamented that the operational environment was not conducive for further investment, putting the company’s outstanding receivable at N112 billion.

He sought a review of concession fees which was denominated in dollars instead of the local currency.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ICRC was established to regulate Public-Private Partnership (PPP) activities in Nigeria, to address physical infrastructure deficit which hampered economic development.