Governor Alex Otti has declared that Abia State is effectively insulated from nationwide power failures.
The national power grid crashed again on Tuesday, marking the second time in four days.
Otti noted that a cornerstone of this new strategy is a pilot biogas programme launched at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.
He said: “I am sure you would have been aware that some of the disasters that happened recently, our state was not affected, because a whole part of our power assets is within our authority.
“That is the whole idea of acquiring the whole Umuahia ring-fence. I am happy we are making a lot of progress in that area”, he added.
Otti stressed that Abia’s strategic investments in localised power assets have already begun to pay off.
He said, “We’re launching a pilot biogas programme at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The whole idea is to turn waste into clean energy and provide Abia with renewable energy from biogas.
“This is a pilot programme. Instead of the organic waste that we are disposing of, we can turn it with this technology into clean energy, and we will be able to power a whole lot more places, particularly the Umuhaia ring-fence.”
The Governor also confirmed that the Abia State Electricity Regulation Authority officially took over the regulation of power from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on December 24.
Otti revealed that the state’s offer to acquire the assets had been negotiated and accepted by the utility firm Enugu Electricity Distribution Company in charge of power in the state.
Otti said, “I had reported earlier that our offers to EEDC have been accepted, and we are in the process of raising the funds to pay off EEDC.
“On the 24th of December, the Abia State Electricity Regulation Authority took over the regulation of power from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. So everything about distribution, generation, and transmission is going to be regulated within the state.
“The whole idea is to ensure energy sufficiency and independence in the state, just like the Aba Power provides power for the Aba ring-fence.”
