Nigeria's First Integrated Power Plant Begins Operation in Eastern Nigerian State
- Nigeria's biggest power plant has begun operation in Aba, Abia State, Southeast Nigeria
- President Bola Tinubu would inaugurate the new power plant, which will power about nine local governments in the state
- The former minister of power, Bart Nnaji, founded the power plant, which gulped about $800 million to complete
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Legit. ng's Pascal Oparada has reported Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investment and the Economy for over a decade.
The commercial city of Aba in Abia state will witness a new lease on life as the Geometric Power Plant, Nigeria's first integrated power plant, located in the Osisioma area in the state, is set to begin operations.
The plant's Turbine 3 was turned on at about 3.33 pm on Sunday, February 25, 2024, which led to the company's engineers and KS Energy counterparts rejoicing.
Source: UGC
The plant was initially scheduled for inauguration on Saturday, February 24, 2024, by President Bola Tinubu.
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One of the newest Discos in the state, Aba Power Limited, will take electricity from the new plant and supply it to about nine out of the 17 local government areas of the state.
The plant has been described as the most significant investment in the South East. The company has spent about $800 million on its integrated power project, including building a 27-kilometre natural gas pipeline from Owaza in Ukwa West to Osisoma Industrial Layout.
A statement from the company's managing director, Ben Caven, said Geometric Power installed 150,000 kilometres of cables and wires, installed four new substations and refurbished three others it inherited from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
Former minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, founded Geometric Power.
According to a BusinessDay report, Nnaji embarked on the project after James Wolfensohn, an ex-World Bank President and Nigeria's former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, visited Abia State in March 2004, discovered that one of the challenges plaguing Aba was lack of electricity.
The city is reputed to be Nigeria's industrial hub for indigenous manufacturing.
Wolfensohn and Okonjo-Iweala appealed to Nnaji to help with a new power plant dedicated to the city.
ThisDay reports that the facility is licenced to generate and distribute electricity, making it the first integrated power plant in Nigeria.
Analysts believe that the inauguration of the 181MW power plant will mark a new beginning for Aba and Nigeria.
The development follows an earlier report by Legit.ng that the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant's operations have been officially handed over to Penstock Limited, a concessionaire, by the Federal Government.
This announcement came during the inaugural meeting of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for 2024 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, February 21.
The transfer is anticipated to enhance Nigeria's power generation capacity and substantially contribute to fulfilling the nation's escalating energy requirements.
Boost for electricity as $1.2bn power plant begins operation
Legit.ng earlier reported that the minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had revealed that the Zungeru hydropower plant would begin operations by the end of November.
During a journalist conversation, the Minister revealed this in Abuja on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
The Nigerian government had said the $1.2 billion power plant built in Niger State would be ready for inauguration in the first quarter of 2023.
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Source: Legit.ng
