Aba Power Restores 50MW, Turns On New Turbine
Less than 48 hours after Aba Power assured electricity consumers in the Aba Ringfence of its readiness to restore supply to areas affected by the ongoing maintenance of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) facilities in Abia State, it has fulfilled its promise. This was confirmed by the company’s Brand and Communication Manager, Edise Ekong.
“The good news is that we have kept our word,” Ekong stated in a release issued this morning. “The better news is that we are now supplying more power to communities, businesses, and households in our ringfence, making the TCN maintenance of its facilities more or less a blessing in disguise for our customers.”
The power supply disruption followed a one-week maintenance outage by TCN, which began on Monday. As a result, Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12th DisCo, could not receive bulk electricity from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, initially plunging several communities into darkness.
Ekong explained that the delay in restoring power was due to TCN’s failure to promptly approve Aba Power’s request to begin supplying electricity from the Geometric Power’s 188MW gas-fired power plant in the Osisioma Industrial Zone, Aba. Areas such as IGI Feeder and Ukwa Feeder were among those affected.
“We are glad that when the TCN eventually granted us permission the next day to start supplying power to the affected areas, we not only recovered the lost supplies but are now giving Aba people more electricity than before the repairs and maintenance began,” he disclosed.
He commended the NNPC Gas Marketing Company Limited (NGML) and its partner, Heirs Energies, for their support in ensuring a steady gas supply to the embedded power plant. This, he said, enabled the immediate activation of another 47MW General Electric (GE) turbine.
Ekong further clarified that Aba Power continues to receive electricity from the NDPHC via TCN between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. daily, ensuring that nearly all parts of the Aba Ringfence remain powered. However, he acknowledged that certain areas still face outages due to vandalism and obsolete equipment, which are currently being replaced.
As part of its expansion efforts, Aba Power is constructing dedicated power lines for large manufacturing companies, including Nigerian Breweries and Seven-Up Bottling Plc. “Once we activate the Factory, Ogbor Hill, and Owerrinta lines this month and next, the industries in Aba will experience drastically reduced production costs because they will no longer have cause to self-generate electricity, one of the most significant contributors to high business costs in Nigeria,” Ekong stated.
Meanwhile, a notable mechanical engineer and electricity consultant in Abuja, Dike Ejike, has called on other electricity firms in the country, particularly DisCos, to emulate the Geometric Power Group in providing reliable, safe, and affordable electricity.
“DisCos, in particular, must invest substantially in the business before expecting a profit,” he advised in a statement released today.
Ejike expressed concern over the state of power distribution in Nigeria, noting that many of the investors who acquired the 11 DisCos unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) lacked both technical expertise and commercial competence in the electricity sector.
