The commendation is contained in a letter by the company’s leadership to Alex Otti, governor of Abia State.
Edise Ekong, brand and communications manager, Aba Power, a member of the Geometric Power group, applauded the state government’s promotion of collaboration with the private sector in its intervention in recent negotiations between Geometric Power and some firms in the energy industry for uninterrupted power supply in the Aba Ring-fenced Area following gas supply outages that resulted in blackouts in the area.
The Aba Ring-fenced Area comprises nine of the 17 local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State.
ý’The governor intervened directly and many times in our negotiations with gas producers and suppliers to ensure constant supply, so that industries, social organizations like hospitals, laboratories and educational institutions, as well as households, markets and small and medium enterprises remain competitive for the benefit of all in Abia and beyond,’ Ekong said.
ýThough Geometric Power signed a gas supply contract almost two decades ago with The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), which used to operate Oil Mining Licence (OML) 17 in Owaza in Ukwa West LGA of Abia State, it receives gas from Heirs Energies, a fast-growing indigenous oil and gas company that now operates the oil licence following President Muhammadu Buhari’s decline to renew the Shell licence.
ýGiven the ageing gas infrastructure, which was built over half a century ago and has now created serious operational challenges, Ekong noted that Governor Otti has been encouraging Geometric Power to explore alternative sources of gas supply to its 188-megawatt plant in the Osisioma Industrial Layout in Aba.
ý’As he was intervening in negotiations with gas suppliers, the governor was also getting constant briefings from his Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, and his Special Adviser on Power and Public Utilities, both sound professionals and dedicated public servants’.
ýEkong, an engineer, stated that Governor Otti demonstrated the same passion in Geometric Power’s discussions with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and the Independent System Operator (ISO) in Abuja for his firm’s temporary use of power from the national grid during emergencies.
ýHe revealed that Geometric Power has already paid in advance an undisclosed amount, which he described as significant, for supplies from the national grid ‘when there is a compelling need to draw electricity from this source’
ýCommending the state administration for ‘practising public-private partnership in truth and spirit’, he commended religious bodies, civil society organisations, industrialists, landlords, professionals, traders, communities, and other stakeholders in Aba and the environs for their understanding during the blackouts arising from a total lack of gas while the repair and rehabilitation of the antiquated gas infrastructure were on.