NDPHC Restores 450MW Alaoji Power Plant After Three-Year Shutdown

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company has revived the 450-megawatt Alaoji Open Cycle Power Plant in Abia State after the facility remained shut for three years due to gas supply disruptions, metering disputes and mounting debts owed to gas suppliers.

NDPHC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Adighije, disclosed this during a meeting with Abia State Governor Alex Otti, where she briefed the government on efforts undertaken to restore the plant.

According to a statement issued by the company’s Head of Corporate Communications and External Relations, Emmanuel Ojor, the power station was shut down in 2023 after disputes over gas metering and trading points prompted TotalEnergies to suspend gas supply to the facility. The shutdown also led to the accumulation of outstanding debts, worsening operational challenges at the plant.

Adighije said the company carried out extensive technical and financial interventions to restore operations, including repairs on defective gas lines and settlement of outstanding obligations owed to TotalEnergies.

“The good news is that we have carried out and fixed all the remedial works on the defective gas line. We’ve also been able to completely defray our past due obligations to Total, and Total has restored gas supply to the plant,” she said.

She added that NDPHC completed major electromechanical restoration works on three generating units — GT1, GT22 and GT23 — enabling the facility to dispatch about 375 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.

According to her, the plant has adequate transmission infrastructure with no major evacuation constraints, positioning it to contribute significantly to grid stability and improved power supply across the South-East.

The Alaoji Power Plant, located near Aba in Abia State, is one of Nigeria’s key government-owned power generation facilities developed under the National Integrated Power Projects initiative aimed at tackling the country’s electricity challenges.

Governor Otti described the revival of the plant as a major boost for industrialisation and economic growth in Abia State, noting that the facility has the potential to expand beyond its current capacity.

“The last time I visited the Alaoji plant, it was regrettable that such capacity was wasting away. I’m glad to learn that you have brought it back to life,” Otti said.

He disclosed that the plant could eventually scale up from its current installed capacity to about 800 megawatts and later 1,100 megawatts, depending on available funding.

The governor also revealed that the state government had already ring-fenced the Umuahia electricity market and entered agreements with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company to acquire distribution assets covering Umuahia and surrounding communities.

Otti directed the Abia State Commissioner for Power and Public Utility to begin discussions with NDPHC on modalities for wheeling electricity from the Alaoji plant to Umuahia and other parts of the state.

Nigeria has continued to grapple with inadequate electricity supply due to gas shortages, weak transmission infrastructure, vandalism and liquidity challenges affecting power generation and distribution companies.

The revival of the Alaoji plant is expected to strengthen grid stability and improve electricity supply in the South-East, especially as states increasingly pursue direct electricity arrangements under the amended Electricity Act.