Nigeria’s biggest home-grown investor in power generation, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) has disclosed it will be investing into the country’s renewable energy sector to extend power supply to rural communities without electricity.

Chiedu Ugbo, managing director of NDPHC said a meeting in Abuja that the company which built 10 gas power plants for the country, has signed a partnership deal with Azuri Solar Power Nigeria Limited to deploy 20,000 solar lighting systems to unserved rural communities in the country.

He said the company which was formed by the three tiers of the government – federal, state and local governments, as a fast-track special purpose vehicle to bridge the power supply shortage in Nigeria, will be undertaking the partnership through a presidential initiative on rural solar home lighting systems.

Ugbo noted that a department has been opened in the NDPHC to manage this partnership and NDPHC’s interests.

“Let me state at this point, that NDPHC is actively involved in the presidential initiative on rural solar home lighting systems where 20,000 units of Solar Home Systems (SHS) in under-served rural areas with no access to grid electricity supply is being implemented,” said Ugbo to a crop of journalists.

He added: “In July this year NDPHC signed a partnership contract with Azuri Technologies Group/Azuri Solar Power Nigeria Limited for this presidential initiative designed to achieve in 12 months, deployment of all SHS units to the identified communities/beneficiaries. A new department is now in place to drive this initiatives.”