How Communities, Institutions Hinder NIPP Transmission Projects
Communities and institutions have continued to hold down progress of work at the critical NIPP eastern electricity transmission loop. Chineme Okafor writes from a recent appraisal tour of the multi billion naira transmission project
Arecent appraisal tour of works on the electricity transmission infrastructure being put up by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Ltd under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) specifically to take power from the eastern supply loop to other parts of Nigeria shows that communities are by their requests slowing down progress of work on that critical lot of the NIPP despite reported recompenses for acquisition of Rights of Way (RoW).
These communities-Amoji Village in Nenwe Enugu, Oronta, Ukuano and Ubakala, Umuahia in Abia State, Nekede in Imo as well as institutions such as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Ikot-Epene Housing Estate amongst others have opted to site projects that constitute barriers to the stringing together of lines and completion of work on the NIPP eastern electricity transmission line, a critical line that will transmit electricity generated from power plants in the east to other parts of the country.
Located deep in the eastern axis of Nigeria where electricity transmission lines of NIPP passes through or are planned to go through, are built up houses, deliberate shanties and a government storage silo, all of which seem to have formed a thick storm in the cloud of the NIPP.
At the moment, about 563 megawatts (MW) of electricity that can be transmitted from the NIPP Calabar power plant which is actually completed and ready to generate, cannot be transmitted because of these pockets of challenges which the NDPHC has said are deliberate ploys to extort more money in recompense from it.
From a recent assessment, a minimum 1,145 megawatts (MW) of electricity that is expected to come from the 330MW Egbema, 563MW Calabar, Odukpani and 252 Omoku power plants will be have to wait a little while from getting into the national grid due to such extant issues surrounding the completion of work on associated transmission lines.
As discovered from the eastern axis of the NIPP, delays in completion of this almost 200 kilometres transmission line stretching from Calabar to Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State to Ugwuaji in Enugu State could mean that supply shut-in from generation plants on the east will be inevitable. NDPHC is however making efforts to ensure that the line is ready before all of the power plants come on stream.
It stated that starting from 2009, diverse compensation claims by communities, court orders stooping work its sites, theft of key project supplies such as transmission towers and aluminum conductors, outright hacking of fully mounted transmission gantries and indeed brash encroachment on the right-of-way (RoW) of the transmission lines even by agencies of the federal government have all combined to stall the progress of work on this eastern transmission loop.
NDPHC explained that from the Ikot Ekpene double 330kV transmission switchyard which has had its fair share of project delays and cost overrun majorly from an unruly contractor, down to the New Haven, Enugu transmission line, there have been over 45 instances of sabotage by various interests to keep the progress of work on the multi-billion naira eastern power transmission line behind schedule and unable to transmit power from linked power plants.
As learnt from a guided tour through the project routes in communities that straddle the transmission lines, tens of built obstructions, vandalism of transmission equipment, encroachment on the RoW and multiple litigation by individuals over compensation claims are now regular features that seem to have kept the NDPHC on a ‘Catch-22’ situation with the eastern transmission line.
And despite documented evidence of payments made by the NDPHC ahead of time as compensation to checkmate such expected challenges, the progress of work on this critical axis has remained incomplete with patchy leftover works linked to communities and institutions deliberate and reckless acts of sabotage against the country.
“We had issues with what they wanted to compensate us with which we disagreed but later got something from them,” said Godwin Onwe, a resident of Amoji Nenwe in an interaction with reporters.
Onwe further explained that in as much as they were not compensated adequately by NDPHC for use of their lands as a transmission RoW, members of his community who erected shanks within the transmission RoW and got court orders to stop work were mostly living outside of the community but decided to do that to demand for adequate compensation for their land.
Such acts, NDPHC’s officials which include, its Executive Director, Network, Dr. Albert Okorogu, Executive Director, Legal, Abdullahi Salisu and General Manager, Environment, Ben Iruoha explained have become a standard practice among communities and institutions on the eastern transmission line. They however noted that it is exploitative and needless following due and legal recompense made to them by the agency before it proceeded on the project.
Heavy Communities’ Blockades
At the height of such reported deceit exhibited by communities, NDPHC stated that despite its payment as compensation for acquire RoW, cash crops and other economic trees, community folks in Nenwe for instance opted to erect various blocks of structures and shanks along the transmission line’s RoW.
They went ahead to secure court injunctions that placed an embargo on its continuation of work and further requested for more monies in reward from the agency.
These virgin areas, NDPHC’s General Manager, Environment, Ben Iroha said were secured from the community after it had asked that the transmission line be moved away from built up areas into far ends of the community to as a matter of safety, checkmate future electrical accidents that may occur.
Iroha explained that these lands have suddenly become money spinning ventures for some members of the community who now demand for millions of naira in compensation before the double circuit 330kVA transmission lines will be allowed to pass through the community.
Similarly, a fully completed transmission tower which RoW passed through Oronta, Ukuano in Umuahia was allegedly cut down by community members who in demand for payment decided to hack down the tower at the expiration of the court order it secured to stop work on the tower. This tower was reportedly ready for stringing until it was hacked down.
Ikoro Onyebuchi Michael, who claims to be the Secretary of Oronta Development Union however said on this development that the community has dissociated itself from people who hacked down the tower, adding that if ongoing police investigation on the development unravels the perpetrators, the community will support their prosecution.
He however noted that in addition to the monetary compensation made to them for the acquisition of RoW by NDPHC, the community needs adequate compensation from the agency in the form of access roads to their newly allocated development sites.
“We agitate for full compensation to our bushes, forests and access roads,” he said.
Another of such demands was made on NDPHC from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture as compensation for acquisition of a RoW across its silos and bungalow built in Obonarie Okigwe. NDPHC in this regard said that it had acquired the RoW long before the land was allocated to the ministry for construction of its silos.
Brazen Theft of Project Material
At Ubakala, Umuahia South Local Govern- ment Area of Abia State, the NDPHC team also discovered that unknown robbers were said to had invaded the construction yard of one of its contractors, Energo Nigeria Limited who is handling a portion of the 330kVA transmission line project, and carted away 10 drums of aluminum conductors.
Rastko Pribic, the chief engineer of Energo Nigeria in his report to the NDPHC team, alleged that the robbers had two three weeks back attacked the yard early on a Sunday, tied up the security guards on duty with iron wires in-between two containers and made away with 40 tonnes of aluminum conductors despite the existence of a Mobile Police Unit, Squadron 28 just nearby.
Okorogu in this regard expressed his misgiving on such claims, especially with the disclosure that the robbery was executed during the day as well as the weight of the stoled materials.
Obvious Consequences
With regards to the situation, Okorogu said that the NDPHC has being overwhelmed with such challenges, all of which has held it back from completing the high ticket project for close to five years now.
He noted that the work gaps in the transmission project has impacted heavily on power evacuation prospects from power plants in the region.
“Without the completion of major transmission lines such as the Enugu-Ikot Ekpene 330kVA project, it would be pretty impossible to evacuate the electricity being generated by the NIPPs from this axis,” said Okorogu.
He further stated: “We are letting the general public to know the challenges we have been facing in completing this power projects.
Imagine that we have been on this double circuit 330kVA project since 2009 and 2010, facing some of the most difficult challenges like encroachment on the transmission lines right-of-way by a federal agency, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture; even after we have paid compensation on the areas within and around the RoW.”