By Business A.M.
Transcorp Power Limited, Nigeria’s leading power generation company has been presented with a post-privatisation discharge certificate by the Federal Government of Nigeria, following fulfilment of all privatization conditions.
The discharge certificate was presented at the meeting of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP) by Yemi Osinbajo, the vice president of Nigeria and chairman of NCP, to Tony Elumelu, group chairman, Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp), owner of Transcorp Power.
Based on this development, Transcorp Power, with an installed capacity of 972MW, will no longer be subjected to post-privatisation monitoring , making it the first privatized power generation company to achieve this milestone since the power sector privatization commenced in 2013.
Commenting on the ceremony, Yemi Osinbanjo said “Post privatisation monitoring is an important aspect of the federal government’s privatisation programme. Transcorp Power has been able to ensure compliance and surpassed expectations with all 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.
Speaking further, the vice president said, this being the first, should not be the last post privatization discharge event.
On his part, Tony O. Elumelu,, thanked the federal government for their trust and confidence 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 incidents till date”.
He added that Transcorp Group has grown together with its host communities, enriching lives, and improving the community.
Also speaking at the event,Alex Okoh, the director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, congratulated the board and management of Transcorp for the milestones achieved in turning around the enterprise.
Okoh noted that Transcorp has met and exceeded the performance targets and all other covenanted obligations agreed during the signing of the privatisation agreement in 2013, adding that Transcorp Power increased the generation capacity of the plant by 227 per cent 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 N83.85 billion , leading up to a score of 143 per cent.
Transnational Corporation Plc acquired Ughelli Power Plc (now Transcorp Power Limited) from the Federal Government of Nigeria on 1 November 2013 during the privatisation of the power sector. At the time of acquisition, the plant had an available capacity of 160MW.
Transcorp invested and increased the available capacity to 680.83MW ,a 227 per cent increase within four years of takeover, surpassing the 5-year target of 670MW set by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
Transcorp Power is a leading power generation plant in Nigeria, with a commitment to developing Nigerian human capital and the plant is currently operated 100 per cent by Nigerians. In 2020, Transcorp Group increased its installed capacity to 2,000MW with the acquisition of Afam Power Plc and Afam III Fast Power Ltd, located in Rivers State. One of the key targets set for Transcorp is a minimum available capacity of 670 MW.
