In a significant move to address Imo State’s persistent power supply challenges, Governor Hope Uzodimma had signed a bill into law enabling the state to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity.
This development comes after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Electricity Act into law last year, empowering states to generate and distribute power.
Governor Uzodimma, while signing the bill into law at Government House, Owerri, lamented that the poor state of electricity generation and distribution in Imo State has hindered the state’s development indices.
He revealed that he had visited the Egbema Power Plant, a federal government project conceived under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company in 2006, stating that President Bola Tinubu granted the state government’s request to rehabilitate and utilize the plant to solve the state’s electricity challenges.
Based on this development, Uzodimma revealed at the signing of the law that the state government has agreed with Elsewedy Power Generation, an Egyptian firm, to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity to all parts of the state within the next eight months.
*Facts About Egbema Power Plant*
The Egbema Power Plant is one of the several National Integrated Power projects in the country which the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission deemed “a critical infrastructure in the generation, transmission, distribution and natural gas supply sub-sectors of the electric power value chain”
In November 2013, the Egbema Power Plant, was among 10 other gas fired plants in the country the Federal Government commenced the process of selling shares to investors interested in taking over the ownership and management of the power plants.
Details of the submitted bids for the 10 plants showed that Egbema Power station received 4 bids.
James Olotu, then Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company, had said that the event marked a significant milestone.
However, nothing more was heard after the bids for the Egbema Power Station was concluded.
However, another report said the plant was expected to be completed in 2017.
According to Global Energy Monitor, in late 2018, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) gave the contract to build the plant to the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) due to delays by the previous contractor Rockson Engineering Limited.
In September 2019, Energy Central reported that construction on the plant was not yet concluded.
The former contractor, Rockland Engineering, reportedly said that Egbema Power Station was about 71% completed.
In December of 2020, a representative of NDPHC reportedly visited the site and said that the company was looking for new Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors to complete the plant.
As of October 19, 2021, New Energy Research Project listed the project as “Non-operational”
*Elsewedy Portfolio*
Information sourced by INNONEWS from Elsewedy Electric website revealed the portfolio of the company.
It says it has undertaken 57 projects in 14 countries, with 43 of those projects in Egypt alone.
The company also claims to have built the 300 MW Saad Solar PV Project Jinko-KSA in partnership with Al-Ghazala Energy Company, the KSA-based subsidiary of Jinko Power Technology Co., Ltd., to assist Saudi Arabia in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.”
In Africa, it says “our presence extends geographically all across Africa, from Ghana, where we have been executing multiple turnkey street lighting projects, substations & overhead lines to DRC, where we worked on the construction project for the high-voltage distribution substation in Kasumbalesa 220kv.
“In Angola we have established fast track power plants to overcome urgent needs, while in Tanzania we are doubling the country’s electricity production with Julius Nyerere hydropower project.
“The project generates 2,115 megawatts of electric power in a country that has less than 1,600 megawatts today, serving approximately 60 million Tanzanian citizens.
The company says it operates in five key business sectors: wire, cable & accessories, electrical products, engineering & construction, digital solutions, and infrastructure investments.
However, Elsewedy has no known projects in Nigeria, with its website stating that it has a factory in Lagos.
“We have an 8,300 m2 factory in Lagos,” it wrote on its website.
Its product range at the factory include “distribution of transformers up to 36kv, Oil immersed distribution of transformers from 25kVA up to 3150kva, rnage of compact substations, total service package for distribution transformers and Pre paid meters (STS and Smart Card)
*Agreement Imo Govt & Elsewedy Electric Not Published On Elsewedy Website*
Inquiries by this newspaper in the search column of the company website did not reveal information about any agreement yet with the Imo State government regarding the revival of the power plant at Egbema.
An Owerri-based public policy analyst, Mr. Clinton Enwereji of the Global Foundation for Economic and Rural Development, said that the Imo State government’s decision to partner with Elsewedy raises hopes for the revival of the Egbema Power Plant, which has been dormant for years.
Enwereji said, “If successful, this project could significantly improve power supply in the State and address a critical development challenge”
He, however, expressed concern over the lack of information from Imo State government about the Egbema Power Plant project and Elsewedy’s imited experience in Nigeria about building or reviving a power.plant.
He said, “I feel both the Imo State government and the company should spell out the details of the deal or agreement for public scrutiny.
“Elsewedy should equally publish such deals on its website, like it did about similar projects it carried out in some countries” he said.