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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Mr Chiedu Ugbo, Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), has assured that the Gbarain Power Plant will be operational soon.
Addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Power during an oversight visit to the plant, Ugbo revealed that cash flow constraints were the major issue delaying the resuscitation of the burnt Power Control Module (PCM).
“We had to put a unit to the grid, and unfortunately, the temporary power control module put in place got burnt,” Ugbo explained. “But at the time it happened, we had a more pressing threat to the community, which was the line pipe laid before 2015 that was washed away by River Nun.”
He continued, “It got to a point when the pipeline was dangling on top of the river, and no responsible management would ignore such a tremendous threat to the host community. We shut down the plant and made sure we fixed that pipeline by doing a horizontal direction by burying it many meters away. We couldn’t take the two capital-intensive projects together because of our financial limitations. Right now, we are owed close to N200 billion forever because as NBET is paying, it is accumulating more.”
Ugbo emphasized that the pipeline project has been completed, and the community is now safe. He stated that the company is now focusing on addressing the PCM issues.
“We have informed the original equipment manufacturer, Scheider, and we have done the procurement,” Ugbo said. “But to fast-track the resuscitation of Gbarain, we are moving one from one of our sites and replacing it with one that will be purchased.”
He assured the committee that all the engineering and gas assets are well preserved, and the plant is well maintained. He added that it was coincidental that the resolution of the House of Representatives was tabled when plans were already in place to fix the problem.
When asked about the date the PCM would be fixed, Ugbo acknowledged that being an engineering issue, it would be difficult to provide a specific date immediately.
“I assure the member representing Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/ Opokuma federal constituency, Hon Ofoji Oboku, that our team will sit with representatives of Bayelsa State Government and agree on timelines to bring the equipment and install it,” Ugbo concluded.
