Only two of six privatised power plants delivered on targets – BPE

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Tuesday delivered an unflattering assessment of the performance of the power sector since it was handed over to new private operators in 2013.

The Director-General of the privatisation agency, Alex Okoh, told the Senate Committee on Power during its investigative hearing on the power sector recovery plan that only Transcorp Power Limited and Geregu Power Limited out of the six privatised electricity generation companies (GENCOs) have met their performance targets since taking over.

Transcorp Power, operator of the 972 megawatts (MW) Ughelli power plant reputed to be Nigeria’s largest fossil-fuel based power plant, is owned by the UBA Chairman, Tony Elumelu.

The 434 MW-capacity Geregu Power plant operated by Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, a subsidiary of Forte Oil Plc, is owned by investor and businessman, Femi Otedola.

The two companies were among the winners in the bid for four power plants privatised by the BPE in 2012.