Nigerian government has announced Mainstream Energy Solutions as the preferred bidder for the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant concession.
MESL reportedly won the 700MW power plan after beating out other bidders who scored lower in the evaluation process.
The company secured the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant, with a concession fee of $70million per year for 30 years.
This development was confirmed by spokesman of the Bureau for Public Enterprises [BPE] Mr. Ibeh Chidi in a statement in Abuja.
Zungeru hydroelectric power plant has the capacity to generate 700mw of electricity. It is Nigeria’s second-largest hydroelectricity power station, behind the Kainji Hydroelectric Power Plant.
It was gathered that MESL won the bid scoring 94.3% of the total 1,200 marks, surpassing the minimum benchmark score of 75%, and offered the highest concession fee.
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The NCP had approved the concession of the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant on December 21, 2020, and 11 firms submitted bids when the Bureau of Public Enterprises published the requests for qualifications for the concession on October 27, 2022.
Consequently, the BPE published the requests for qualifications (RfQ) for the concession of the power plant in three national newspapers on October 27, 2022, which at the close of the deadline, 11 firms submitted bids.
Three consortiums: Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Limited Consortium (APPNLC), Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL), and North-South Power Consortium (NSP), bided for the deal.
In another development, the NCP has approved a scheme of external restructuring proposed by Kepco Energy Resources Nigeria Limited (KERNL), the core investor in Egbin Power Plant.
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“The approval is to enable the entity to boost its capacity to raise the required capital to double the existing capacity of the plant to 2,640MW.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has said that exporting electricity to Benin, Niger is strategic. This is the reason it has continued to sell electricity to neighboring countries despite many Nigerian homes not having access to power.
Recently, Nigeria’s electricity generation collapsed to 3,876MW, its lowest level in months, and has remained below 5,000mw when the country needs over 28,000mw.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria has a total of 8, 310,408 registered active electricity customers.
By Ken Okoye
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