The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Friday grant operational licence to international oil company, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) to build and operate a 575 megawatts (MW) power plant to be located at Eket in Akwa Ibom state.
NERC disclosed its final approval in a statement in Abuja saying that the planned power plant was a timely boost to Nigeria’s power sector. It added that the country’s on-grid power generation capacity will grow in line with projected capacity upgrade to 20,000MW by 2020 with the issuance of licence to MPN Unlimited to build the 575MW power station.
The statement was signed by its Head, Public Affairs Department, Dr. Usman Abba Arabi, who noted that the licence was issued by NERC after all stipulated requirements as regards license issuance were met by Mobil.
The Vice Chairman, NERC, Mr. Muhammed Bello, acknowledged the significant stride taken by the company and assured Mobil that “NERC’s mandate is to ensure availability and reliability of electricity.”
The Chairman/Managing Director, Mobil, Mr. Mark Ward, described the feat as a momentous one and thanked NERC for collaborating with his company.
“The project provides a unique opportunity in the sense that there is ready fuel supply and connection to the grid.”
Two other oil companies already contributes to the national power grid; Shell, 642MW and Agip, 480MW.
