The governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, has inaugurated a five-member board for the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Agency (ASERA) to complete negotiations with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) and acquire the ring-fenced area of Umuahia.
The board members inaugurated by Otti include the Onyegbule Emeka as chairman/Chief Executive Officer; Ikowu Ukwu as Executive Director; Engr. Iheanyi Eze as Executive Director; Onwuegbule Kareem Eberechukwu as Non-Executive Director, and Dr. Joy Oti as Non-Executive Director.
Otti vowed during the inauguration of the board members at the Government House in Umuahia, to pull the capital city from the national grid, and solve its power issues.
“We are at the final stages of negotiations with EEDC, the idea for us is to acquire the Umuahia ringed-fence and that includes Umuahia North, Umuahia South, Ikwuano, Bende, Ohafia, Isuikwuato, Umunneochi and Arochukwu.
“So, we are almost done and by the time negotiations are completed, payment would be made and we will pull Umuahia out of EEDC.
“The original agreement with geometric before the amendment of the law was that any excess capacity would be sent to the national grid.
“Our plan right now, because Geometric has a stored capacity of 188 megawatts of energy, though they have three turbines with the capacity of 141 megawatts, the fourth turbine should be on the way any moment from now.
“At maximum load, we believe that Aba ringed-fence should not require more than a 100 megawatts. So, there is a balance of 88 megawatts.
“Our proposal is for it to be wheeled into Umuahia rather than sending it to the national grid. If we have 88 megawatts, at least we can guarantee steady supply of power,” he said
The governor also highlighted that industrialisation cannot happen without power, assuring that electricity is central to the agenda of his administration.
Otti recounted how he supported the Geometric power company to come on stream, having been on the drawing board for 20 years before its commissioning.
He noted that the members of the board were selected on merit, adding that he was confident that they would perform.
The Executive Director of the newly formed board, ASERA, Engr. Iheanyi Eze, lauded the governor’s efforts and promised to achieve all visions about electricity and deliver quality and affordable power to the people.
