Prosper Okoye
Aba Power, the electricity distribution company serving parts of Abia State in south-east Nigeria, has been described by the state’s regulator as the benchmark against which other power firms across the country should be judged.
The Chairman of the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Commission (ASERA), Engr Emeka Onyegbule, made the remarks after leading a team on an inspection of facilities operated by Geometric Power Group, the parent company of Aba Power.
“I came here with my team to see if the reality matched the reports we have been getting about this integrated power group, and I must say I am profoundly impressed,” Mr Onyegbule said.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“The engineering team deserves a standing ovation for the state-of-the-art network infrastructure it has provided. This is the benchmark for the rest of Nigeria.”
Aba Power, which took over electricity supply in nine of Abia’s 17 local government areas about three years ago, says it has built four new substations, refurbished three inherited from the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria, laid more than 150 kilometres of overhead lines and installed smart meters for more than 90% of its customers.
A former senior manager of the defunct National Electric Power Authority, Engr Cliff Eneh, said the company’s performance had been unusual in Nigeria’s power sector.
“Aba Power is Nigeria’s most reliable utility because of its constant electricity supply, which allowed people in Aba to enjoy regular power for over two months towards the end of last year,” he told journalists in Lagos.
“The supply would have remained unbroken to this day if not for a shortage of gas from its partner.”
Mr Onyegbule said ASERA was ready to work with Aba Power to address such constraints.
“In Geometric Power we have found a partner that understands the assignment,” he said. “We are pledging today to collaborate for an uninterrupted gas supply and to partner with it to expand capacity.”
The Managing Director of the Geometric Power Plant, Engr Ben Caven, said the company was considering increasing generation capacity from 188 megawatts to 500 megawatts to meet rising demand in Abia State.
Although no timeline was given, sources close to the firm say governments outside Abia are already in talks with Aba Power to buy electricity from its embedded power plant, citing its reliability and cost.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Aba Power, Ugo Opiegbe, told the visiting regulators that the project was the result of decades of planning.
“What you see here is the realisation of a decades-long vision,” he said. “We are not just an electricity distribution company, but an integrated power system. Our goal is to make Aba the first place in West Africa where an industrialist never has to worry about a flicker of a lightbulb.”
He said the company had invested heavily ahead of taking over the Aba Ring-Fenced Area in 2022, with a focus on cutting Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, a key condition of Nigeria’s power sector privatisation.
The head of engineering at Aba Power, Engr Akpata, said the company had exceeded its own targets on metering.
“When we announced last year that we would supply 100,000 smart meters in 2025 through vendor financing, many people doubted us,” he said. “But we went beyond that and installed more than 122,000 smart meters by the end of December. Across the Aba Ring-Fenced Area, estimated billing has been replaced with automated precision.”
Local business groups have welcomed ASERA’s pledge to deepen cooperation with the company.
In a statement, the President-General of the Abia Amalgamated Traders Association, Chief Alphonsus Udeigbo, said it was in line with the economic plans of Abia State Governor Alex Otti.
“We are on the right track to making Abia one of the four most economically competitive states in Nigeria,” he said.
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A former general manager at Nigeria’s power regulator, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, Handley Blu-Jack, said ASERA’s approach was a positive sign.
“By choosing to work closely with Geometric Power, the Abia Electricity Regulatory Commission has shown that it understands its duty to protect consumers and the wider electricity industry,” he said. “There is a lot the country can learn from what is happening in Abia.”
Mr Onyegbule was accompanied on the visit by ASERA’s executive directors for legal and regulatory affairs, Iguwo Ukwu, and technical affairs, Iheanyi Weze.
Prosper Okoye is a Correspondent and Research Writer at Prime Business Africa, a Nigerian journalist with experience in development reporting, public affairs, and policy-focused storytelling across Africa
