The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jonny Baxter, has described Geometric Power’s achievement in providing reliable electricity to the Aba Ring-fenced Area of Abia State as significant.
Baxter made the remarks during a visit to the Geometric Power Group, operator of the 188-megawatt Geometric Power Plant in Osisioma Industrial Layout, Aba, and Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12th electricity distribution company.
The Aba Ring-fenced Area covers nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, Baxter also commended the more than $800 million investment made in the area by Geometric Power.
During the visit, the British envoy toured the Geometric Power Plant and other facilities within the premises, including the company’s steel tubular electricity poles.
The poles, according to the company, are buried 10 metres underground, with another 10 metres standing above the ground, to improve their resilience against natural disasters, including earthquakes.
“What you have achieved here is impressive. It is an innovative approach, and it is clear that significant work, investment and commitment have gone into building this project,” Baxter said.
Explaining the uniqueness of the facility, Geometric Power’s Learning and Development Director, Engr. Livinus Nmaram, told the envoy that similar infrastructure could be found in major cities such as San Francisco and Tokyo, which are prone to earthquakes.
The British diplomat was accompanied on the visit by the Special Adviser to Abia State Governor Alex Otti on Power and Public Utilities, Engr. Kachi Etoluo.
The statement described the Aba Ring-fenced Area as the only part of Nigeria that is not dependent on the national grid for electricity, as it generates power from its own gas-fired turbines and distributes the electricity within the territory.
The turbines were manufactured by General Electric (GE) of the United States.
A former senior engineer with the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), Cliff Eneh, said all the electricity currently generated by the Geometric Power Plant was being consumed within the Aba area.
He, however, disclosed that there were plans to supply excess electricity to the national grid after a new turbine being acquired by Geometric Power arrives from Houston, Texas, in the United States.
During the visit, the Managing Director of Geometric Power Group, Mrs Agatha Nnaji, briefed Baxter on the support and cooperation the company had received from the Abia State Government under what she described as a strong public-private partnership.
Nnaji urged other state governments to adopt similar partnerships to promote investment and accelerate development.
She, however, highlighted challenges confronting the company, particularly persistent supply-chain difficulties.
According to her, gas supply to the power plant had not been as regular as required, attributing the interruptions partly to the age of the gas infrastructure, which was constructed more than 50 years ago.
Also speaking, Etoluo assured the management of Geometric Power of the Abia Government’s continued support for the company and other investors operating in the state.
He said partnerships remained important to Governor Otti’s administration in its efforts to accelerate the development of Abia State.
