Aba Power Project Ready 2013

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Aba Power Station, the first private indigenous power project in the country, would start operation by February 2013, it was learnt.

  The project, which is the sole initiative of Geometric Power Limited, would provide a reliable-electricity supply to Aba, the commercial capital of Abia State and its environs.

The project, which is being handled by ABB Powerlines, Group Five of South Africa, Pauwels of Belgium, Greneral Electric and Oilseriv Nigeria Limited, is planned in three phases and when completed would be generating and distributing about 1000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

A gas pipeline, which would be connected to the power plant for supply of gas, is also being constructed.

Speaking with reporters during a facility tour of the power plant, the project Manager, Group Five of South Africa, the power plant contractor, John Rickert and the Project Manager, Pauwels/EMO Africa in charge of distribution substation, Slobodan Balkvoic and his counterpart in ABB/GEC Powerlines in charge of power lines and poles, said: “We are here to show you phase one of this project. When we came here, Aba had three sub-stations of two numbers of 15MVA transmission transformer. The maximum Aba could get would never have adequately gotten to the people because it did not have enough evacuation structure.

“We had to build four additional sub-stations to bring it to seven power lines they were dilapidated and we had to rebuild them. We had to introduce a different kind of poles, the Steel Tubular Poles (STP). It is of two different kinds. The new sub-stations are located at Osisioma, Ogbor Hill, Factory road and Port Harcourt Road. We are going to refurbish the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)  substation in Omode. Riekert said: “Phase one will generate 140mw and phase one B will generate 47mw.

It is just an additional unit of the same type. Phase two will generate 540mw in Alaojie and phase three will come later and this is expected to bring it up to 1000mw.

“Each one is a project on its own. The power plant has its own sub-station, which is to transmit power from there. When the project is completed in February 2013, Aba would have a reliable power supply.