The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) is intensifying its push for improved electricity supply in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as it moves to integrate an additional 350 megawatts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s power plant into its network.
Chijioke Okwuokenye, the acting managing Director of AEDC stated this in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, the NNPC’s plant is expected to be operational by the last quarter of this year or first quarter of next year, adding that the additional energy will relieve Abuja environs of epileptic power supply.
“The future looks very bright, there is a 350 MW generation plant being built by the NNPC around Gwagwalada that is meant to come off either the last quarter of this year or first quarter of next year. That alone is going to massively relieve Abuja’s environs of energy costs.
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“We are working closely with the NNPC to see how we uptake that power and improve service delivery to Abuja. So I’m very sure that by this time next year, all these issues will be ressolved, ” he said.
He also disclosed that the company has increased its energy intake by almost 15 percent, compared to the previous year. He added that in terms of loss reduction, the company also achieved a 10 basis point reduction in losses about 42 percent to 32 percent.
Okwuokenye, speaking further said the company is working in partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) on the embedded generation scheme. Under the scheme, he said the company will add 10 megawatts (MW) to the total electricity supplied to customers.
“So we have the ones we are doing with the REA and we have the ones that we are doing on our own. We also have the embedded generation that we are working on. With the embedded generation, we have a plan to build about three number 10 megawatt solar plants, expanded to 20 depending on how the demand grows.
“You would see these are the three external clusters that surround Abuja. So while we are concentrating on the center, we are also looking at the outskirts, the clusters, so that before you know it, we are attacking this problem from all angles and we can immediately light up the entire Abuja.
“We are doing the embedded generation plan and that’s why I’m confident to say that by this time next year, Abuja citizens will not feel the impact of reduced electrons on the grid because we will have enough energy within our franchise area to meet a substantial amount of our demand.
“So we are actually asking our customers to bear with us. We know that it is tough now but the vision is very clear and we are sure that with all we have put in place, we are going to be able to deliver on this promise,” he said.
Okwuokenye decried the impact of energy theft, meter bypass, and non-payment for electricity consumed, stating that these are major issues affecting power supply in the nation’s capital.
He urged customers to pay bills promptly and report illegal connections, stressing that reducing system losses and increasing energy volumes are critical for reliable and affordable electricity.
Okwuokenye also revealed that the company had deployed about 70,000 meters within the last 14 months under various initiatives, including the Meter Asset Fund and the Distribution Sector Recovery Program. This, he said was aimed at ending estimated billing, improving transparency and boosting sector liquidity.
He noted that improved revenue collection had enabled AEDC to meet its market payment obligations and begin settling legacy debts.
“Between last year and the first two months of this year, we have deployed about 70,000 meters. These are real customers moved from estimated billing to credible billing. This improves customer confidence and ensures that the market becomes more liquid.
“We have also done a lot in terms of meeting our market obligation. I can tell you that before now, AEDC was one company that was known to have amounted debts to the market because in the past we weren’t able to meet our payment obligation to the market. But that’s now in the past.
“We are meeting 100 percent our obligations to the market and even paying down previous debts. I will tell you how this impacts the market and how it ensures that going forward there’s available electrons for Nigerians to industrialize, to be productive. So when the DISCOs are unable to pay the value chain of the market, what happens? GENCOs are unable to produce because they are unable to pay the gas and TCN is unable to carry out the required expansion that is needed of them.”
