The Federal Government has not sold its five National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) due to low bids from potential buyers, which failed to match the government’s investment expectations,Engr. Oluwagbenga Ajiboye, Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP), TCN has said.
The affected plants include;Geregu II (434MW), Omotosho II (451MW), Olorunshogo II (750MW), Odukpani (563MW), and Benin-Ihovbor (451MW).
Ajiboye, disclosed this on Wednesday, during the opening a Three-Day TCN Media Workshop for Energy Correspondents Association, themed “Understanding the Critical Role of TCN in Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).”
The planned sale, earlier announced in 2023 to address the national budget deficit, has stalled due to these unsatisfactory offers, he said.
Ajiboye also said that Nigeria currently operates 23 power plants with a combined available capacity of 12,000MW.
He stated that much of this capacity remains untapped due to ageing equipment affecting both generation and distribution.
According to him,while TCN is investing in the open market, it faces ongoing challenges with Distribution Companies (DisCos), who often reject electricity loads for economic reasons—primarily because customers are unable or unwilling to pay.
He said,despite grid simulations showing TCN can deliver up to 8,701MW to DisCos, actual uptake remains limited by payment issues from end users.
He added: “We have all known all the GenCos have been privatised except the power stations under NIPP. The government has been going up and down, forward and backwards, either to privatise or sell or not to sell.
“The government is willing to sell, but the money being offered is not sufficient to cover the outlay of the investment.
“The market owes us about N457 billion as of March, being to the market shortfall and legacy debts. We have traced N217b to the legacy debt, and we are in discussion with MOFI to pay us something out of it,” said the Executive Director.
He said TCN cannot control what the DisCos described as economic load rejection or dispatch, since the distributors have identified where customers fail to pay for energy.