NDPHC partners NASENI, Haier to deliver 20MW  power to Challawa Industrial Area, Kano

By Constance Athekame

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has announced a partnership with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and Haier Technologies.

The partnership is to deliver 20 megawatts (MW) of embedded solar power to support businesses in the Challawa area of Kano.

Mr Emmanuel Ojor, Head, Corporate Communications and External Relations, NDPHC, said this in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

Ojor quoted the Managing Director of  NDPHC,  Mrs Jennifer Adighije as saying  this when  she led a high-level management team on a site survey and assessment of the Challawa Industrial District in Kano.

He said that she was accompanied on the visit by  the Executive Director of Generation, NDPHC, Mr Kassim Abdulahi, and the Executive Director of Corporate Services, NDPHC, Mr Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama

Speaking during a meeting with business owners in Challawa,  Adighije described the visit as both significant and emotional.

She noted the critical role the industrial area played in national revenue generation and socio-economic development.

She said” It is a pleasure to be at the Challawa Industrial Area. This is a very important and emotional visit.

 “I recall that on Dec. 7, 2024,   the Chairman of NDPHC Board and Vice President, Kashim Shettima, visited Challawa and before he returned to Abuja, he called and gave us a directive to provide an alternative source of electricity to the area,”she said.

“While addressing the delay between the vice president’s directive and the current visit, she explained that it took NDPHC a few months to respond because they had to engage development partners to devise a cost-effective solution that would ensure affordable tariffs for the Challawa community.”

Adighije  said that NDPHC engaged NASENI and Haier Technologies to develop a project framework that leveraged Kano’s abundant solar potential to deliver reliable, renewable, and affordable electricity to businesses in Challawa.

“I was emotional seeing businesses with the capacity to generate revenue and drive economic growth suffer losses simply due to a lack of affordable electricity.

”We must turn our solar potential into actionable solutions that unlock opportunities, boost productivity, and serve the greater good of all Nigerians, ”she said.

According to her, “the output of the manufacturing sector should directly translate into job creation, wealth generation, and poverty reduction.

She added that Kano was symbolic and strategic to President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

She also assured the business owners that NDPHC and its partners were fully committed to deploying embedded solutions that would significantly benefit manufacturers in the area.

The managing director said that as a generation company, NDPHC primarily supplied power from its gas-fired plants to the national grid.

She said that with the power market now transitioning to a bilateral trading structure, the company was able to sell directly to off-takers, distribution companies, or registered buyer groups.

“As an association, you can come together to register a trading company and purchase electricity directly from NDPHC.

 “You can be assured that our electricity pricing will be highly competitive—better than what is currently available from distribution companies, she said.

The team’s first stop was at the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), where they were received by the Managing Director, Mr Abu Jimeta.

Both CEOs had reaffirmed their commitment to collaboration in developing viable models to enhance electricity access in Kano and its environs.

.The joint visit also included representatives from the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and Haier Technologies.

Others on the visit included NDPHC’s development partner who are collaborating on a 20MW embedded solar generation facility aimed at supporting vulnerable businesses in the Challawa area.(NAN)(www nannews.ng)