Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa has said that power from the state’s Independent Power Plant, when completed, would not be free.
Diri made the clarification on Thursday when he visited the project site to inspect six out of the eight new 60mw gas turbines at Elebele in Ogbia Local Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the power equipment and its accessories arrived the state about a week ago.
The governor told journalists that people of Bayelsa were upbeat about the prospect of the acclaimed 24-hour power supply by end of this year.
He explained that consumption would be metered and paid for as the government had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Jampur Group to establish a customised metering production plant in Bayelsa.
He said: “I had given the end of this year as deadline for this project and we are sticking to that.
“Hopefully before Christmas, we will have these turbines fired up and by God’s Grace Bayelsa will begin to have 24 hours uninterrupted power supply.
“We are actually expecting eight gas turbines but six have arrived and I have been assured that the remaining two with some accessories will be here next week. These are the most modern gas turbines.
“Initially, we planned to have two very large plants but the experts advised that there could be blackout if one of them breaks down. So I had to approve the eight.
“As you know, to maintain these equipment and the gas to fire them, even though it is on our soil, we will spend money to procure it from the company. So it is not free.
“For there to be constant electricity everybody must pay for it. It is pay as you consume,” he said.
The Commissioner for Power, Mr Kharin Komuko, described the project as a dream come true for the “ASSURED Prosperity” of this administration.
He said when the governor first spoke about it, it was criticised by critics of the government and I thanked the governor for making good his promise.
The Managing Director of the Bayelsa Electricity Company, Engr. Olice Kemenanabo, explained the role of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) in the IPP project.
He said the Electricity Act had grey areas that were interwoven to ensure that all distribution companies were carried along.
Kemenanabo said the state and PHEDC were working together to avoid any legal tussle between the franchise owners and the distribution network.
He said PHEDC existing network, which had over 400 transformers in the state, would be utilised for power distribution.
Speaking on behalf of the Jampur Group, technical partners to the IPP, the Project Manager, Mr Sharif Abu, described the gas turbine project as very crucial and sensitive, noting that the precise time schedule for completion would be met.
The governor also inspected sites of the ongoing construction of the 25,000-capacity stadium at Igbogene and the nine-storey civil servants secretariat project at Ovom, both in Yenagoa Local Government.
Diri was accompanied on the visit by the Deputy Governor, Mr Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, Chairman of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Solomon Agwana, the Commissioner for Power, Kharin Komuko, and other government officials.
