By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
Transcorp Power, the first power generation company to fulfil all privatisation obligations, has been given discharge certificate by the Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN, in Abuja.
Transcorp Power Limited, a leading power generation company, located in Ughelli Delta State, with an installed capacity of 972MW was presented with a post-privatisation discharge certificate by the federal government following fulfilment of all privatisation conditions.
This development means that Transcorp Power will no longer be subjected to post-privatisation monitoring and is the first privatised power generation company to achieve this milestone since the power sector privatisation commenced in 2013.
One of the key targets set for Transcorp is a minimum available capacity of 670MW.
The discharge certificate was presented at the meeting of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of NCP, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to Mr Tony O. Elumelu, Group Chairman, Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp), owner of Transcorp Power.
Commenting on the ceremony, Osinbaho said “Post privatisation monitoring is an important aspect of federal government’s privatisation programme.
Transcorp Power has been able to ensure compliance and met the expectations of post privatisation deliverables.
I commend Tony Elumelu and his Transcorp team for this feat. I urge Transcorp Group to continue in that path and even do better. This being the first, should not be the last post privatisation discharge event,” the VP said.
The Group Chairman, Transcorp, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, thanked the federal government for their trust and confident in Transcorp.
He stated: “In addition to fulfilling the post privatisation performance criteria, Transcorp has driven a strong indigenous agenda – our plants are managed and fully operated by Nigerians, creating jobs and reducing unemployment in the country.
“Safety is very important to us as well, since we began operations in 2013, we have recorded zero incident till date.
Speaking at the Event, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Okoh, congratulated the Board and management of Transcorp for the milestones achieved in turning around the enterprise.
He noted that Transcorp had met and exceeded the performance targets and all other covenanted obligations agreed during the signing of the privatisation agreement in 2013.
He said “Transcorp Power increased the generation capacity of the plant by 227% from the operational status as at handover in 2013.
Speaking further, he said, “Capital expenditure totaling N58.612bn was covenanted for phase1, phase 2 as ‘additional investment’ but the actual investment made by Transcorp was the sum of N83.85bn, leading up to a score of 143%.”
Transnational Corporation Plc acquired Ughelli Power Plc (now Transcorp Power Limited) from the federal government of Nigeria on 1 November 2013 when the power sector was privatised. At the time of acquisition, the plant had an available capacity of 160MW. Transcorp invested and increased the available capacity to 680.83MW (being a 227% increase) within 4 years of takeover, surpassing the 5-year target of 670MW set by BPE