The Federal Government, through the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, has returned 450MW of generation capacity to the national grid after completing scheduled maintenance on the Geregu NIPP plant in Kogi State.

The extended four-week minor inspection, carried out by Siemens Energy, was designed to boost the plant’s reliability and efficiency.

The work also increased its Equivalent Operating Hours, reinforcing one of Nigeria’s key generation assets.

The update was announced on Monday in a statement by the Head of Corporate Communications and External Relations at NDPHC, Emmanuel Ojor

Managing Director/CEO Jennifer Adighije said the Geregu restoration is part of a broader initiative to reactivate previously idle assets across the company’s generation fleet.

The statement read, “The Niger Delta Power Holding Company has successfully restored an additional 450MW of generation capacity to the national grid following the completion of scheduled maintenance on the Geregu NIPP plant.

“The four-week extended minor inspection, undertaken by Siemens Energy, was executed to enhance the facility’s operational reliability, performance, and efficiency, thereby extending the plant’s Equivalent Operating Hours and operational life span.”

She noted that six long-idle gas turbines have been brought back to service in the past year. These include GT4 at the Calabar NIPP; GT1 at Omotosho II; GT1 and GT2 at the Benin NIPP; GT4 at the Sapele NIPP; and GT3 and GT4 at the Alaoji NIPP, which are now awaiting pre-commissioning once gas supply issues are resolved.

Collectively, the restored units will supply about 875MW to NDPHC’s mechanically available capacity, marking one of the most significant single-year generation recoveries by any power producer in recent times.

“The company has also recovered six previously dormant gas turbines across the NDPHC fleet of gas turbines. These include GT4 at the Calabar NIPP, GT1 at Omotosho II, GT1 and GT2 at Benin NIPP, GT4 at Sapele NIPP, and currently GT3 and GT4 at Alaoji NIPP on standby for pre-commissioning after gas supply remedial works,” the statement added.

Adighije also confirmed that restoration work has begun on the 225MW Gbarain NIPP plant in Bayelsa State, which has been offline since 2020.

She described the effort as “a major step toward recovering dormant national power assets,” noting that its rehabilitation will bolster NDPHC’s commercialisation plans to supply power to key industrial and commercial hubs in the Niger Delta.

Despite ongoing challenges with gas shortages, grid instability, and sector-wide liquidity pressures, NDPHC said it has achieved notable operational and financial milestones.

These gains include the recovery of 110 containers filled with critical turbine parts and Heat Recovery Steam Generator components that had been abandoned at Onne Port for over nine years.

Additional milestones include: the launch of the Light Up Nigeria Agbara industrial cluster project to supply reliable power to the Agbara Industrial Estate; development of a 10MW embedded solar plant for an industrial zone in Kano; completion of key transmission and distribution projects in Borno and Delta States; and the completion of the long-delayed Afam–Ikot Ekpene 330kV double-circuit line, a major grid-expansion project.

“To strengthen accountability and staff welfare, the management of NDPHC has introduced a procurement benchmarking desk for streamlining procurement practices, Computer-Based Testing for enhanced staff performance management, and a management support allowance to cushion the impacts of fuel subsidy removal.”