The Nigeria present power state is expected to add 188-Megawatt to its total power generation  through Geometric Power plant in the Osisioma Industrial Layout in Aba, Abia State scheduled to start electricity generation by September. Confirming this vital information as concerns the prevailing Nigerian poor power state is the Geometric Power group chairman, Professor Bart Nnaji, who was former Nigerian Minister of Power.

The Chairman of Geometric Power Limited, Prof. Barth Nnaji,  disclosed that the company is already working with NNPC Ltd towards resolving the issues of gas, citing how imperative the gas supply is to enable the company begin electricity generation from its 188MW capacity power plant in Aba Abia State within the next two months.

According to Prof. Nnaji, the company has projected to achieve this with one of its four General Electric brand turbines, While expecting the second turbine to come on stream once the performance of the first turbine is declared satisfactory by the team of engineers led by KSE Energy of Turkey and Engineer Ben Caven, a former executive director of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) reputed to be the only person to have run the generation, engineering and transmission divisions of the state-owned utility.

Geometric Power group chairman, Professor Bart Nnaji who recently paid a visit to Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, in Nvosi, Isialangwa South Local Government Area, in forming Governor on the preparedness the company is to power the State in the coming months and also to highlight the changes facing the smooth take of the power plant while assuring the Governor that the power plant will come on stream once the sue of gas supply is resolved with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

“So, we’re expecting that once we have gas, which will be in the next month or two, we will be able to power Aba, that is, from our own power plant.

“Right now, we’re buying power from the national grid, that is why power is not reliable yet and so, we’ll like to ask the people of Aba to bear with us that we’re getting there. We’re pretty much there.

“The turbines to power the electricity plant which were taken abroad for maintenance have been brought back to the plant and reinstalled. We’re now working with the NNPC to resolve the issue of gas supply to the plant,” Prof. Nnaji asserted.

“All that remains now is to provide fuel or gas to the Geometric Power plant through the 27-kilometre gas pipeline from Owaza in Ukwa West LGA in Abia State to the Osisioma Industrial Layout on the Aba outskirts. Oilserv, Nigeria’s foremost indigenous gas pipeline builder, is doing a good job,’’ Geometric Power boss, commented

On the importance of the Geometric Power Plant to the people of the State and the environs, He emphatically outlined numerous benefits the establishment of a power project of this magnitude will impact to industrial hub of Aba especially in the areas of textile and leather works. Nnaji commended Aba businesses for excelling in textiles, leather products and metals which need large export markets.

“The generation of electricity from the Geometric Power plant will be a game changer in the socioeconomic development of not just Aba city but nine out of the 17 local government areas in Abia State serviced by Aba Power, a member of Geometric group”, Nnaji declared today to wildly cheering participants at the First African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Market Opportunities Conference holding at the Technology Incubation Centre in Aba, organised by the Continental Export Import (CONEX) Ltd.

“We have completed building four brand new power  substations and refurbishing three substations inherited from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), in addition to providing thousands of kilometres of cables and wires, as well as world-class tubular poles available in only highly industrialised cities such as Tokyo in Japan and San Francisco in California.

Further on the level of works presently executed on the Aba power plant integrated project the company disclosed that though work has been completed on the seven substations, thousands of kms of wires as well as tubular poles, and that the power infrastructure will be put in use only when the Geometric Power plant becomes operational.

However it should be recalled that Nigeria power infrastructure recently received major investment reform from the present administration of President Bola Tinubu who assented to the long awaited electricity bill into law. The national electricity bill was passed in July 2022 by the country’s national assembly seeking to repeal the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act, 2005.

The main essence and benefit of the bill is primarily to erase the hurdle of monopoly enjoyed by the Federal as the sole custodian of generation, transmission and distribution of power. But the passage of the bill has empowered States, companies and individuals to generate transmit and distribute electricity. States would also be able to issue licenses to private investors who have the ability to operate mini-grids and power plants within the State, but such State licenses are not to extend to inter-state or transnational distribution of electricity.