The House of Representatives has called on Vice President Kashim Shettima to summon an emergency meeting of the board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), for the urgent resuscitation of the Gbarain Power Plant, located in Bayelsa state.
The call was directed to the vice president, who is the chairman Board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
The House has also summoned the Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr Joseph Ugbo, to appear before its Committee on Power to explain the state of the Gbarain power plant, which it said if in operation, will enhance the efficiency of the national grid.
The Gbarain Power Plant is an open cycle gas turbine power plant built to accommodate future conversion to combined cycle gas turbine configuration. It is an operating power station of at least 252 megawatts located in Koroama, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state.
The resolution was fallout of a motion Thursday by Hon. Oboku Oforji, who noted that on November 30, 2020, the NDPHC lost the Power Control Module of the power plant to a fire incident.
“The Bayelsa state government offered to take some responsibilities of the NDPHC, since it was the most affected, particularly as the state-owned Niger Delta University derives its electricity supply from the station”, he stated.
He expressed displeasure that three years after, the NDPHC “has not been able to live up to their responsibility by replacing the Power Control Module which allegedly has been lying redundant in one of its uncompleted stations.
“One is prompted to doubt the competence of NDPHC to manage this power plant which has the potential to be the largest power station in the nation because of its comparative advantage over other power plants in its proximity to gas,” Oforji said, adding that “Reaching its potentials, Gbarain Power Station can conveniently power the whole Niger Delta region and beyond.”
