Heirs Energies, an indigenous oil and gas firm working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), which took over the ownership and operations of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 from The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has sustained gas supply to Geometric Power, which has resulted in uninterrupted electricity supply to the Company’s network area.
To this end, Aba Power Electricity Limited has achieved another 45 days of uninterrupted power supply to its customers.
Electricity consumers in the Southeast geopolitical zone affirmed this laudable achievement, which has boosted businesses in the Aba Ring-fenced Area of Abia State.
Aba Power provides electricity to nine of the 17 local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State, known as the Aba Ring-fence.
“As Geometric Power Ltd, the owner and operator of the 188-megawatt thermal plant in the Osisioma Industrial Layout of Aba, marks yet another 45 days of uninterrupted electricity”, declared the Southeast zone of the Electricity Consumers Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in a statement in Awka, Anambra State. “We commend Aba Power for faithfully delivering the entire electricity generated by the plant to our people and industries”.
The statement signed by Engr Joe Ubani, the ECAN chairman in the Southeast, and Comrade Chris Okpara, the secretary, attributed the steady supply for almost two months to the uninterrupted natural gas supply to the plant.
“Our investigation shows that gas supply has been steady”, said the statement.
“This shows that Heirs Energies, an indigenous oil and gas firm working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), which took over the ownership and operations of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 from The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has been grappling with operational challenges to the admiration of all”.
Heirs Energies supplies natural gas to the 188MW Geometric Power Plant from its gas facilities in Owaza in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State through a 27-kilometre gas pipeline built by the Geometric Power group at $50m.
ECAN explained that the gas facilities recorded technical depreciation before Heirs Energies and the NNPCL acquired them because the SPDC stopped investments in them following a protracted case in Court between Shell and the Federal Government when the immediate past federal administration declined to renew SPDC’s lease.
“We are delighted that Heirs Energies, alongside NNPCL, is building up capabilities, indicating what Nigerian corporate entities, entrepreneurs and professionals can do if given the opportunity”, ECAN added.
The association of electricity consumers stated that the steady gas supply from Heirs Energies in recent weeks which has resulted in constant power supply to the Aba Ring-fence by Aba Power led Governor Alex Otti of Abia to declare that “in Aba we have gone beyond this problem” when he was speaking at the graduation ceremonies of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought and public power to the venue suddenly went off almost two weeks ago.
“Our advice to the Nigerian authorities”, continued ECAN, “is to take a look at what the Geometric Power Group has been doing and borrow a leaf from it, so that the rest of the country can enjoy uninterrupted, quality, and affordable electricity.
“It is heartwarming that the Minister of Power, Adebaya Adelabu, is already taking this step, and we urge all Nigerians to support him.”