The move comes as the Federal Government seeks to boost electricity generation and improve the efficiency of power assets operated under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
The $1.3bn project, operated by Penstock Limited under a PPP agreement, is currently generating approximately half of its installed capacity, leaving about 350MW of potential generation untapped.
To address the shortfall, the ICRC convened a meeting in Abuja involving the Federal Ministry of Power, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the concessionaire to identify the factors limiting the plant’s performance and agree on remedial measures.
The commission said the stakeholders had identified the legal and operational issues affecting the project and agreed to reconvene to assess progress towards resolving them.
Speaking on the intervention, the ICRC Director-General, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, said the commission would not allow power assets managed under PPP arrangements to continue operating below their potential while the country grapples with electricity supply challenges.
He explained that the commission’s mandate includes ensuring that both government institutions and private-sector concessionaires fulfil their obligations under PPP agreements.
According to him, compliance with the agreements is essential to ensuring the sustainability of projects, securing returns on investment, improving service delivery and achieving value for money.
Ewalefoh said the review of the Zungeru project was part of a broader effort to strengthen oversight of infrastructure assets managed through public-private partnerships.
The commission disclosed plans to conduct similar compliance reviews of other PPP-operated hydropower facilities, including Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Dadinkowa and Kashimbila.
The proposed reviews are intended to establish whether existing concession agreements are delivering the efficiency and performance expected from private-sector participation in the management of government-owned infrastructure.
The ICRC’s intervention is expected to help identify gaps in the implementation of the Zungeru concession agreement and determine the measures required to improve the plant’s output, although the commission has yet to disclose a timeline for resolving the identified constraints.
