By Oke Peter
As the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) commemorates its 10th-anniversary of privatization, Egbin Power Plc has described the milestone as a decade of trajectory progress of the power plant, resulting in greater contribution to the nation’s socio-economic growth.
The GenCo, while commemorating the occasion, attributed the achievement over the decade to the unwavering commitment of the Board, Management, and staff as well as massive support from partners in the power sector value chain. while emphasizing its renewed commitment to continue to contribute to the sustainable development of the sector.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Egbin Power Plc, Mokhtar Bounour, highlighted that the transformation was driven by high aspirations and a clear vision of Sahara Group to contribute positively to the nation’s power sector.
“Following the takeover in 2013, the turnaround of Egbin power plant was decisive and strategic, in line with the vision of the management to provide reliable and accessible power supply to Nigerians.
“The clear focus and commitment of the company stirred them to prioritize and inject substantial investment in crucial areas including overhaul, human capital development, safety of employees, upgrade of equipment and infusion of state-of-the-art technology, among several other capital projects. These initiatives ushered in a significant increase in the generation capacity that grew from below 400 MW to over 1000 MW,” Bounour said.
According to him, the company will continuously give stability to the grid through sustainable power generation. “Our product is electricity. We are empowering schools, hospitals, and strategic institutions. We are participating positively in the economic growth of the country. Egbin is very important to the grid. So, this puts the responsibility on the management to maintain stability on the grid and participate positively in all areas, leading to an improvement of the entire sector”.
“We are focusing on continuous improvement, how we can improve the plant efficiency and availability, how we can our impact on the host communities and environment while ensuring that everyone is safe,” Bounour noted.
As part of programmes planned to commemorate the milestone, GenCo said it has outlined several CSR activities covering health, education, and empowerment initiatives that would be carried out in the host communities – Egbin, Ijede, and Ipakan – in line with its commitment to give back to the society.
According to Egbin Power, it has implemented several decarbonizing projects for the ultimate benefit of the environment, the communities, and employees. It has also achieved 670,000kg of CO2 emission eliminated by reducing fossil energy consumption, a 14.1 percent reduction in energy intensity of electrical energy, and over 3,000 trees planted to safeguard the environment.
Egbin Power reassured that it would continue to break new grounds and forge ahead in bringing energy to life responsibly, as the Board and Management are determined to drive consistent growth through technological innovations, continuous investments in human capital development, thinking globally and acting locally, and deploying best practices in its operations.
The GenCo urged for alignment and collaboration among players and stakeholders in the value chain, noting that this would further drive improvement in the sector and deliver reliable electricity to Nigerians.
