Delta Targets 120MW Power Boost and Moves to Cut Reliance on National Grid

Delta State is pursuing a 120-megawatt power project with Supply Power as it seeks to reduce pressure on Nigeria’s national grid and improve electricity supply locally.

Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information Charles Aniagwu announced the plan at a press conference in Asaba. He said the partnership formed part of wider efforts to open the state’s power sector to private investment and develop alternative sources for homes, businesses and communities.

The state is focusing on its natural gas resources, with the Kwale Free Trade Zone identified as a major opportunity for electricity investors. Potential investors visited the zone during the state’s recent economic summit to assess gas availability as a raw material for power generation.

Aniagwu said local generation could increase electricity available in Delta while freeing national-grid capacity for other consumers. He pointed to the 8.5MW independent power plant behind the state secretariat in Asaba, saying it had allowed the secretariat complex to operate independently and made the power it would otherwise use available elsewhere.

The planned 120MW project is expected to strengthen supply for small and medium-sized businesses. The state is also extending the electricity grid from Abraka toward the Ndokwa axis to connect more communities. Aniagwu said Delta was intervening in areas traditionally assigned to distribution companies because inadequate electricity could no longer be allowed to restrict economic development.

He also criticized the burden placed on communities that finance transformers and other infrastructure, only for distribution companies to take over the facilities and collect bills without adequately accounting for the communities’ investments.