The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) says it has commenced routine maintenance at its 430 megawatts (MW) Geregu Power Plant as part of efforts to enhance operational efficiency and improve electricity generation.

Emmanuel Ojor, head, corporate communications and external relations, NDPHC, said this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

Mr Ojor said that a minor inspection was also being undertaken by the plant’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Siemens Energy, which would last for about four weeks.

He said that during an on-the-spot assessment of the ongoing work at the plant in Kogi, the managing director of NDPHC, Jennifer Adighije, said the exercise would significantly improve the plant’s performance and reliability.

According to her, the scheduled maintenance underscores NDPHC’s commitment to sustaining optimal generation capacity and meeting its power supply obligations to the national grid.

Ms Adighije also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s goal of achieving universal access to electricity for all Nigerians.

According to her, scheduled plant maintenance is key to ensuring operational efficiency and optimal asset utilisation, which, in turn, will improve the company’s revenue performance.

“We want to be able to evacuate and commercialise all the electricity we generate to the grid.

 “We are also here to participate and offer our full support to the Siemens team, who are onsite to carry out an extended minor inspection.

“Geregu has three Siemens turbine units with a combined installed capacity of about 430 megawatts.

“This is a planned outage, and the Siemens team has proactively mobilised to conduct extended minor inspections, alignment checks, and other related works to ensure the units operate optimally.

”This is also a prelude to the major inspections we are planning for in the near future,” she said.

The NDPHC boss added that the company remained committed to strong operations and maintenance practices to keep the country’s critical power assets running efficiently.

“We are on top of things to ensure these units continue to operate optimally.

”This will enable us to inject reliable, quality power into the national grid in line with Tinubu’s vision for universal electricity access, powering homes, industries, and supporting national development,” she said.

Also speaking, the executive director, Generation, NDPHC, Abdullahi Kassim, explained that while a minor inspection typically took about three weeks, the company had allocated four weeks to the exercise to accommodate unforeseen circumstances.

“From what we have seen, the condition of the machines is good.

“They are within the tolerance limits of operation, and we hope to complete the work within the scheduled time,” he said.

Earlier, the site manager for Siemens Energy, Atiemie James, thanked the NDPHC management for its visit and promised that the maintenance work would be completed as planned.

(NAN)