The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) is intensifying efforts to connect manufacturers and other large businesses to dedicated electricity as unreliable power supply remains one of the biggest operating challenges confronting Nigeria’s productive sector.
The company is expanding participation in its Eligible Customer Programme, which allows qualifying electricity consumers to obtain dedicated power under mutually agreed commercial terms.
NDPHC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Adighije, encouraged more businesses to join the programme during the company’s Customer Service Week in Abuja.
“To businesses yet to join, power your growth with NDPHC’s Eligible Customer Programme, which offers dedicated power supply and mutually agreed commercial terms,” Adighije said.
Programme Targets Reliability Gap
For manufacturers, reliable electricity is directly connected to productivity.
When grid supply is insufficient or unpredictable, businesses frequently have to rely on alternative generation.
That can increase production costs and weaken competitiveness.
The Eligible Customer Programme is designed to provide qualifying high-volume users with a more direct commercial route to electricity supply.
The model can also help generation companies connect available capacity with customers willing and able to pay for dependable electricity.
NDPHC Operates About 4,000MW Capacity
NDPHC operates 10 power plants comprising 28 gas turbines and three steam turbines, with installed generation capacity of approximately 4,000 megawatts.
The company says that generation portfolio provides a platform for supporting large electricity consumers.
At the same time, NDPHC is working to recover dormant capacity and improve plant availability.
Installed capacity does not automatically translate into electricity available to customers.
Generation can be constrained by gas supply, maintenance, transmission limitations and other operational issues.
Recovering unavailable capacity therefore remains important to the programme’s expansion.
Manufacturers Need Predictable Energy Costs
For industrial companies, reliability is only part of the challenge.
Predictability also matters.
Businesses making investment decisions need to estimate their future production costs, and electricity can account for a substantial portion of expenditure in energy-intensive industries.
Commercial power arrangements that provide clearer supply and pricing terms can therefore help manufacturers plan production more effectively.
Dedicated Supply Could Support Industrial Growth
Nigeria wants to increase manufacturing’s contribution to economic output, but that ambition depends heavily on electricity.
Factories cannot operate efficiently without dependable energy.
Improving power supply to industrial clusters and large commercial users could therefore have a multiplier effect through increased production, investment and employment.
The NDPHC initiative is not a complete solution to Nigeria’s electricity challenges.
But it demonstrates an increasingly important direction in the sector — matching available generation directly with customers whose operations require reliable power.
If NDPHC can recover more dormant capacity and expand participation, the Eligible Customer Programme could help convert underutilised generation assets into electricity for productive businesses.
For manufacturers, that could mean fewer disruptions and greater confidence in production planning.
