The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has begun a review of the $1.3 billion Zungeru Hydropower Project following concerns over the plant’s inability to operate at its full 700-megawatt capacity.
The hydropower facility, which is being operated under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, currently supplies about 350MW to the national grid, representing roughly half of its installed capacity.
The review involves the ICRC, the Federal Ministries of Power and Water Resources and Sanitation, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Penstock Limited, the company operating the plant under the concession arrangement.
The commission said the exercise was aimed at identifying contractual, legal and operational challenges affecting the plant and finding practical solutions to improve its performance.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, the Director-General of the ICRC, Jobson Ewalefoh, said government-owned power assets operated through PPP arrangements must deliver the efficiency and services for which they were concessioned.
Ewalefoh said the Federal Government’s efforts to address the country’s electricity challenges made it necessary to ensure that facilities such as Zungeru operated as close as possible to their full potential.
He explained that the ICRC’s role was to regulate PPP arrangements and monitor compliance with the terms agreed between government institutions and private concessionaires.
According to him, the commission’s mandate under Section 20 of the ICRC Act 2005 includes keeping custody of concession agreements, monitoring compliance with their provisions and ensuring effective implementation of government concession contracts.
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The DG stressed that signing a concession agreement was only the beginning of the PPP process, adding that proper implementation of the agreed terms was essential to achieving the desired results.
He also noted that PPP arrangements involve shared responsibilities and risks, with the ultimate objective of ensuring sustainable operations, investment returns, effective service delivery and value for money.
The commission disclosed that similar compliance reviews would be conducted on other PPP-operated power assets, including Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Dadinkowa and Kashimbila.
Ewalefoh said the findings from the various reviews would be compiled into a comprehensive report for submission to President Bola Tinubu.
The ICRC said the exercise formed part of its broader responsibility to ensure that public assets transferred to private operators under PPP arrangements deliver improved efficiency and services to Nigerians.
At the end of the Zungeru review meeting, participating agencies identified a number of legal, contractual and operational issues affecting the plant’s performance.
The stakeholders also agreed to reconvene at a later date to further examine the identified challenges and determine the measures required to improve the plant’s output.
The ICRC reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Federal Ministry of Power and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen the performance of PPP power projects and increase their contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
