A few days after a power generating and distribution company, Geometric Power secured the rights for the Aba Ring fence environmental rights group, Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD) has urged the company to ensure that Aba regains its original status as the industrial nerve centre of the Eastern Region.
For over nine years, the News Echo reports that the $500 million Geometric Power Plant which can
produce and distribute about 141 megawatts (MW) of electricity in its first phase has remained dormant following a Ring Fence ownership dispute between it and the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
The plant wish is situated at Osisioma-Ngwa has too many new distribution lines, four new sub-stations and three rehabilitated sub-stations to make distribution easy and each plant is to produce 47 MW of power, supported by a 60 MVA per transformer.
News Echo gathered that the gas-powered plant had already laid a pipeline spanning 27 kilometres to the power plant at Osisioma from a gas plant at Shell company flow station at Owaza community, in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State and is ready to supply uninterrupted electricity to nine local government areas of the Old Aba Political Bloc.
Therefore, FENRAD said that full acquisition of the Aba ring-fenced area by management of Geometric Power Plant should be the catalyst of economic development for the City and a total shift from the epileptic power supply that crumbled the city’s commercial status since the early 1990s.
News Echo reports that Geometric on the 17th of February 2022 formally acquired the Aba Ring-Fence Area from Integrated Electricity Limited, a core investor in EEDC, ending a nine-year legal battle over the rightful owner of the project.
FENRAD said that the handing over of electricity assets in Aba by the National Council on Privatization (NCP) through the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) is a welcome development to the Aba business community.
Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, Executive Director FENRAD urged Geometric to bring an end to estimated billing and immediately provide prepaid metres to all consumers in Aba and its Environs.
He also urged Geometric to maintain broken-down electricity equipment like transformers and other equipment that will guarantee a steady power supply.
“They should establish a Rapid Response Mechanism to address the need of the Aba community and a veritable channel of communication with consumers.
“Set up Non-judicial mechanism to engage communities and other informal sector value chain in Aba and Environments
“Finally, they should ensure there is comprehensive data of electricity consumption and set up an online mechanism to address emerging issues which might associate with its operations,” FENRAD said.
The saga between EEDC and Geometric Power Plant began during the ending part of President Goodluck Jonathan government during the privatization exercise after Interstate Electric acquired 60% of EEDC from the BPE move to a share sale and purchase agreement.
This led to EEDC to be given the licence to distribute light in five states in the South-east including the previously the Aba Ring-Fenced Area.
The conflict was recently resolved on the 15th of November 2021 in Durban, South Africa, when Afreximbank signed a US$50 million Term Loan facility with Geometric Power Limited in connection with the Aba Integrated Power Project.
The chairman of Geometric Power, Prof Barth Nnaji expressed delight that the legal tussle has ended. He said that his company was ready to provide reliable electricity to Aba.
“The other government sold what was rightfully ours to the people who acquired EEDC. So, they simply bundled Aba as part of EEDC. It was done knowingly. That is why we went to court, and we’re grateful this administration resolved the issues.
“We’ve paid the acquisition price of $26 million. I used to be on the other side of the fence and what we said during that time was that anybody that’s acquiring a DisCo should have the financial capacity or technical capacity, and was that’s what he brought in.
“We have made the necessary investments required to not have any issues in terms of reliability of power supply. So, we have invested about eight times the amount of the acquisition already.
“We have built new substations. We built new power lines, over 140 kilometres of new lines, we built four brand new substations. We’ve built gas pipelines with seven kilometres to ensure that we have gas uninterrupted from Shell to us, etc. So, all these things we’ve done and the whole idea is to ensure that the network is what it is supposed to be.”
News Echo gathered from many residents of Aba the attitude of EEDC in their businesses is something they cannot wait to get through and expressed joy that the coming of Geometric Power Plant is going to be huge leverage to them.
