Two firms partner to boost power supply

Generator manufacturer Cummins Incorporated and United Kingdom (UK) based Gentec are involved in a joint venture business in Nigeria, it was learnt yesterday. They are to design, operate and maintain gas power plants.
“Cummins partner in this new business venture is Gentec, a specialist UK based power plant constructor and operator, which has successfully built turnkey and independent power producer (IPP) plants powered by class leading Cummins gas generators in Asia, Europe and Africa”, the firm said in a statement.
Gentec’s Chairman Mr. Dipi Khilnani said: “With over a million hours of operating experience with Cummins gas generator sets in Nigeria, we are confident that we have the right product and the right capability to meet the needs of Nigerian Industry.”
He added that gas power delivers significant operational savings in these difficult economic times.
The new venture called Cummins Energy Solutions Nigeria Limited (CESN), according to the partners, is set to capitalise on Nigeria’s growing network of natural gas distribution. This fuel source will facilitate the construction of distributed power plants typically in the two megawatts (MW) to 50 MW range to meet a wide spectrum of industrial and IPP customers . CESN will also introduce smaller gas powered solutions from 40Kva to 1MW to enter into the SME segment.
“This new venture further illustrates Cummins’ commitment to Nigeria and this business will be an important vehicle to contribute towards reducing Nigeria’s critical power deficit,” said Satish Jayaram, the Director of Power Generation for Cummins Africa.
“The new venture will harness the strengths of Cummins’ global expertise and its industry leading efficient gas technologies with Gentec’s proven power plant project implementation expertise in emerging markets. This strategic investment is testimony of Cummins’ vision and strategy to accelerate our presence and investments in Africa,” Jayaram added.