Customers within the BEDC franchise area in Nigeria are set to receive an additional 250MW of electricity following a framework agreement signed between the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
As per the agreement, BEDC, NDPHC, and others will work together to identify and prioritize critical projects to increase power supply, whilst improving on the technical and commercial environment. The main focus will be the power supply to certain areas as well as the upgrading of all critical distribution infrastructure.
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Some of the initial project areas are Benin Bypass (industrial cluster near NDPHC’s power plant at Ihovbor, Benin City, Edo state), Asaba, Delta state, Ondo South Senatorial District, Ondo state, and interventions in Ekiti state.
The journey to the agreement
According to NDPHC Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo the journey to the agreement started with the initiation of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) by the Federal Government of Nigeria back in 2004 as a government-funded initiative to stabilize the West African country’s power sector.
Ugbo said that as a result, the government incorporated NDPHC as a limited liability company with a mandate to manage the power projects tagged “NIPP” for its states and local governments.
“Since then Nigeria electricity supply industry has evolved significantly from the construction of NDPHC’s 10 power plants with a combined capacity of over 5,000mw, of which more than 4,000Mw has been completed, to the privatization transactions from which BEDC emerged as one of the 11 distribution companies in Nigeria,” explained the NDPHC boss.
About BEDC
BEDC is one of the successor distribution companies (Discos) created following the unbundling and privatization of the state-owned Power Utility, Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc. BEDC is responsible for the retail distribution of electricity in Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo States.